Isaac Cruz vs Jose Valenzuela: Prediction and Tips
Isaac Cruz defends his WBA super lightweight title against Jose Valenzuela at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday night.
The 12-round clash takes place on the undercard of the super-welterweight world title showdown between Israil Madrimov and Terence Crawford and has the potential to be an explosive affair between two fighters with impressive stoppage records.
Isaac Cruz vs Jose Valenzuela Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Isaac Cruz to win by KO, TKO or Disqualification at 4/7
Tip 2 - Isaac Cruz to win to win in rounds 1-2 at 20/1
Tip 1 - Isaac Cruz to win by KO, TKO or Disqualification at 4/7
Isaac Cruz comes into the bout with a 26-2-1 record with 18 of his wins coming via stoppages.
The Mexican lost his sixth fight as a professional and also had a draw early in his career, but in recent years he has been an elite level performer with some huge names on his CV.
Cruz has picked up victories over the likes of Diego Magdaleno, Francisco Vargas, Yuriorkis Gamboa, the previously unbeaten Giovanni Cabrera and Rolando Romero over the course of the last four years and he should have too much for Jose Valenzuela, who just doesn’t have that level of experience.
Cruz is on a four-fight winning streak since suffering the second loss of his career, although he arguably enhanced his reputation in that defeat. In 2021, he lost on points to Gervonta Davis and he is one of two fighters to go the full distance with ‘Tank’ - and the only man to last a full 12 rounds.
Vaeanzuela does carry plenty of power with nine of his 13 wins coming inside the distance but the challenge of Cruz is a significant step up for the American.
The southpaw rose up the rankings and put together an impressive 12-0 record, culminating with an impressive win over Francisco Vargas which suggested he could be a threat at the elite level.
However, Valenzuela was then handed a first career loss as he was stopped in the third round by Edwin De Los Santos and then suffered back-to-back defeats as he was outpointed by Chris Colbert.
The 25-year-old has since avenged the defeat to Colbert, via a sixth-round TKO, but the defending champion looks a worthy favourite.
Pitbull has three stoppages in his last four fights and the fact that Valenzuela is a southpaw shouldn’t be a concern, as he overcame Magdaleno in just one round and only needed two to see off the challenge of Eduardo Ramirez.
There should be some good back-and-forth exchanges in this clash between two fighters who like to fight on the front foot, but Cruz has demonstrated he can withstand real power previously and Valenzuela has been stopped, so backing the champion to claim another KO win looks a strong play here.
Tip 2 – Isaac Cruz to win to win in rounds 1-2 at 20/1
Anyone looking for a big-price outside option in this bout could look to the 20/1 on offer for Cruz to claim a very early finish.
Some fighters tend to struggle when faced with a southpaw, but Cruz is not one of them, and if anything he thrives against this type of opponent.
In 2020, Magdaleno was an experienced 32-3 fighter who had twice challenged for world titles and represented a step up in class for Cruz - but the Mexican was able to claim a first-round win.
Cruz stopped southpaw Ramirez in the second round and Valenzuela’s solitary stoppage loss against De Los Santos did come in the third round, while he was knocked down in the second in that fight.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see both fighters go on the attack from the off and Cruz does have form of claiming early stoppages, so an early finish in favour of the reigning champion has a chance.
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to fluctuation