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By: Sean Crose
A throwdown between two junior welterweights was the main event of a PBC card broadcast live from Texas Saturday night on pay per view. A WBC interim title was at stake as Lamont Roach, fresh off his near win against Gervonta Davis the previous spring (he had to settle for a draw) took on the exciting Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz in a scheduled twelve around affair. It may not have been a supermatch, but it was a pairing of two interesting combatants with a lot to gain and a lot to lose.
Cruz went out for blood immediately. It was clear Cruz wanted to at the very least take control of the tempo early on. Cruz continued to apply a large amount of pressure in the second. Early on, the fight without doubt belonged to Cruz. Sure enough, Roach was sent to the mat in the third. The man was able to beat the count, but he truly needed to change the tempo of the bout. As the fight headed into the middle rounds, however Roach began to assert himself more. It might not have been enough to pick up some rounds, but he was showing he was still in the fight.
Things got very interesting in the seventh when the referee took a point away from Cruz for headbutting. Did Roach have a chance to pull off a comeback win? The truth was that, in the eighth Cruz appeared like he might be getting gassed. By the last quarter of the fight it was clear that Roach had successfully turned the tide – at least for the time being. Heading into the championship rounds, it was difficult to know who might have been up on points. The eleventh was close. The twelfth saw Cruz giving it everything he had while Roach fired off some impressive shots.
After the final bell, the judges ruled the fight…a draw.
Earlier in the evening WBA middleweight king Erislandy Lara proved that age is nothing more than a number. Before the bell sounded ending the first round challenger Johan Gonzalez was on the mat. He beat the count, but the 42 year old Lara showed once again what an excellent fighter he still is. Things were less than thrilling after that, with Lara dominating. It wasn’t an exciting fight – until Lara put Gonzalez down again seconds before the final bell – but Lara proved good enough to cruise to a unanimous decision win.
Lightweights O’Shaquie Foster and Stephen Fulton also showcased their skills on Saturday, squaring off for a scheduled 12 rounder in which the interim WBC title was at stake. Both men looked sharp early on, which made the fight hard to call. As the bout wore on, however, Fulton was unable to get inside on Foster. Thanks to, among other things, a terrific jab, Foster was eventually able to run away with the bout, thus earning himself a unanimous decision win. Perhaps if Fulton had not shown up overweight at the weigh in, things may have worked out differently.
