Isaac Cruz didn’t wait long to make his intentions clear after his hard-fought majority draw with Lamont Roach Jr. this past Saturday in San Antonio. The two junior welterweights battled fiercely over 12 rounds, and with little daylight between them, both men embraced talk of running it back. Cruz, never shy with his words, couldn’t resist taking a jab at their shared rival.
“Do the fans want a rematch?” Cruz asked with a grin at the post-fight press conference. “I’m not Gervonta Davis; I want a rematch right away.” The line drew laughter from Roach, who previously saw a promised Davis rematch fall apart after their controversial majority draw earlier this year.
Roach believes he deserved the nod against Cruz and insists a second fight should take place on neutral ground - or even back home in the Washington D.C. area. Cruz also felt he deserved the win but had just one condition for a sequel: a new referee. He was particularly frustrated by a seventh-round point deduction for holding and hitting, a call he believes cost him a unanimous decision.
Despite their disagreements, both fighters remained respectful and acknowledged the quality of their bout. And with Davis unavailable and the junior welterweight landscape wide open, a Cruz–Roach rematch feels not only logical but inevitable.
“I did my job, I did my work,” Cruz said. “The most important thing is that the fans got a great fight. That’s what made me happy.”
Image Credit: BBC