Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz vs. Jose Valenzuela: Tale of the Tape

A full summer of boxing is on the horizon, but looking past the Summer months, there are plenty of intriguing bouts set to take place this Fall.

One of those is a fight between Isaac Cruz and Jose Valenzuela this August.

The clash is scheduled to take place on August 3, 2024 at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California.

Cruz vs. Valenzuela will be the co-headliner for the fight between Terence Crawford and Israil Madrimov, which will be for the WBO interim Super Welterweight title and WBA Super Welterweight title currently being held by Madrimov.

Fighter Bio	Isaac Cruz	Jose Valenzuela
Odds:	-500	+350
Age:	26	25
Nickname:	Pitbull	Rayo
Height:	5ft 4in	5ft 10in
Reach:	63in	70in
Weight:	Super Lightweight	Super Lightweight
Trainer:	Isaac Cruz Sr.	Jose Benavidez Sr.
Record:	26-2-1	13-2
Last Fight:	Win against Rolando Romero (March 30th, 2024)	Win against Chris Colbert (December 16th, 2023)

Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz vs. Jose Valenzuela fight date, ring walk time, how to watch, undercard & odds

Isaac Cruz Profile

Isaac Cruz goes into this fight with a professional boxing record of 26-2-1. Cruz made his boxing debut in March of 2015, winning his debut fight against Luis Yan Revilla by knockout in the first round.

Cruz went on to win his next four fights in a row to start his career 5-0. His first setback was not until February of 2016, with a loss to Luis Miguel Montano by unanimous decision. 

Cruz bounced back by winning 17 of his next 18 fights with the one outlier being a draw. That impressive form earned him a title fight against Gervonta Davis in December of 2021 for Davis’ WBA Lightweight title. Cruz would lose the fight to Davis by unanimous decision.

Following that defeat, Cruz immediately got another title shot in his following fight, this time against Yuriorkis Gamboa for the vacant WBO Inter-Continental Lightweight title. Pitbull won by technical knockout to claim his first title belt. 

The Mexican went on to win the vacant WBC Silver Lightweight title in September of 2022 against Eduardo Ramirez by knockout, the vacant WBO Latino Lightweight title in July of 2023 against Giovanni Cabrera by split decision, and most recently the WBA Super Lightweight title in March of 2024 against Rolando Romero by technical knockout.

Overall in his career, Cruz has won 18 fights by knockout and eight by decision. His only losses have been by decision and he had one fight end in a draw.   

Strengths	Weaknesses
Physical Presence	Accuracy
Strong	Movement
Durable	Stamina

Jose Valenzuela Profile

Jose Valenzuela boasts a professional boxing record of 13-2. Making his debut in September of 2018, Valenzuela began his career with 12 straight wins. The last of those was for the vacant WBC Continental Americas Lightweight title, a fight he won by knockout against Francisco Vargas in April of 2022.

Following that impressive win streak, Valenzuela had two setbacks. The first came in September of 2022 when he lost to Edwin De Los Santos by knockout and therefore forfeited his WBC Continental Americas Lightweight title.

He followed up that loss with a second consecutive reverse, this time against Chris Colbert in March of 2023 by unanimous decision.

After the defeat to Colbert, Valenzuela demanded a rematch. The request was granted and the fight took place in December of 2023. This time Valenzuela beat Colbert by knockout in the sixth round, snapping his two-fight losing streak.

Overall, Valenzuela has won a total of nine fights by knockout with four wins by decision. He has lost once by knockout and once by decision.

His upcoming fight against Cruz will be his first title bout in more than two years and he will be looking to score a major upset against one of the best Super Lightweight boxers.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Quickness	Lacking defense
Power	Lacks aggression
Intelligence	Movement

Odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.