The July 29th Errol Spence Jr vs Terence Crawford undercard is starting to come together, as lightweight contender Isaac Cruz is set to square off with undefeated Giovanni Cabrera in the co-feature.
News of the matchup first broke almost three months ago.
Cruz (24-2, 17 KO) made a name for himself in a gritty losing effort against Gervonta Davis in December 2021, but failed to capitalize on his momentum. His two-fight 2022 campaign saw him brutalize the remains of Yuriorkis Gamboa, then do the same to the undersized Eduardo Ramirez in a WBC eliminator.
Cabrera (21-0, 7 KO) is at least an actual lightweight. He notably upset Rene Tellez Giron in a fight that came together when both missed weight against their original foes and handily outclassed Gabriel Flores Jr six months later.
Still, not exactly the kind of matchup that makes up for a 10-month layoff on Cruz’s part. Let’s hope it at least lads to bigger things; he’s been angling for a rematch with Davis and the WBC eliminator implies that he’s in line to challenge Devin Haney at some point, though he’s behind Shakur Stevenson in those rankings.