Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz didn’t seem impressed with Ryan Garcia’s entertaining three-knockdown victory over previously undefeated Devin Haney on April 20. Instead, Cruz, the popular WBA 140-pound champion, was more focused on Garcia blowing the weight by 3.2 pounds at the weigh-in than what he did the next day, labeling him as frivolous and unserious.
“Ryan Garcia doesn’t take things seriously,” said Cruz, who was in Manhattan, New York, on Wednesday to formally announce his match with Jose Valenzuela for his WBA belt on Aug. 3 in Los Angeles on a stacked card headlined by Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov. “Even when he comes to the weigh-in, he’s [overweight] by three pounds,” Cruz told a group of reporters following the press conference. “He doesn’t take nothing seriously. He needs to be more focused on training and he needs to be more serious.”
Garcia called out Cruz following the win against Haney. Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) wasn’t surprised.
“It’s not the first time,” he said. “It’s a lot of times he’s said he wants to fight. I’m ready and I want to fight him.”
The popular Cruz battered Rolando “Rolly” Romero for an eighth-round TKO last month to wrest control of the belt, while Valenzuela (13-2, 9 KOs) recorded a highlight-reel sixth-round knockout over Chris Colbert in a December rematch. There have been rumblings that Cruz could face Gervonta “Tank” Davis later this year in a rematch of their exciting 2021 match, which saw Davis win a close decision, if he prevails against Valenzuela. The poker-faced Cruz is open to that fight and others.
“I’m ready to fight anyone,” Cruz said. “I’ll listen to my team and we’ll make the best decision.”