LESS than two years into his professional career, Cuba’s Andy Cruz is now within touching distance of a world title shot. Victory against Japan’s Hironori Mishiro this Saturday will set up a challenge for the IBF crown.
When Cruz, 5-0 (2 KOs), turned over in July 2023, fans were left questioning how aggressively the three-time amateur world champion would be moved and how many fights it would take for him to rise to the cream of the crop.
The answer? Very aggressively and in just six fights.
The 29-year-old amateur sensation has faced opponents with a combined record of 125-21-5 in his five professional contests to date and has soared to the peak of the IBF ratings to home in on a challenge for lightweight gold.
This week’s news of Vasyl Lomachenko’s retirement and subsequent upgrading of Raymond Muratalla to full IBF lightweight world champion has opened up a position for a new mandatory challenger, and the 2020 Olympic gold medallist is the man expected to fill that void.
On Saturday night, on the Hitchins-Kambosos undercard, Cruz will collide with Hironori Mishiro, 17-1 (11 KOs), in an IBF final eliminator, with the victor assumed to be ordered to face Muratalla in the new champion’s first attempted title defence.
For Mishiro, this weekend presents a life-changing opportunity, offering him the chance to pull off the upset and disrupt the plans of one of the most decorated amateurs of recent years. Mishiro can swiftly thrust himself into a clash with Muratalla.
However, the Japanese lightweight champion lacks experience against the upper echelon of the 135lb division and will need to put together the performance of a lifetime if he is to derail Cruz’s title charge.
ANDY CRUZ VS. HIRONORI MISHIRO FIGHT PREDICTION
Andy Cruz is yet to fight in a 12-round contest but has had little issues with stamina when going 10 rounds previously, winning almost every round in his career to date and never fading in the latter stages.
The main drawback with Cruz is a possible lack of power, but his elusiveness means that any power puncher seeking to capitalise will struggle to land the fight-altering shot.
In Mishiro, Cruz takes on a tough opponent who has impressed at the highly regarded domestic level in Japan, but the pedigree of the favourite makes him almost impossible to side against here.
As a result, Boxing News predicts a regulation unanimous decision for Cruz, setting him up for a salivating scrap with Muratalla later in the calendar.
