Andy Cruz Gómez vs. Juan Carlos Burgos Castillo

There are so many southpaws in the cuban national team that it's hard not to think about southpaws when we find one of them. It looks like cubans kill orthodox people when they are born.

 

A cuban good amateur looks terrible in the pros, oh what a surprise!!!

newsflash = Cubans always fail in the pros

 

This content is protected

Meh...all this "goddamn hipsters" backlash (not just here, some on Twitter as well) seems like just selective contrarian nit-picking for the mere sake of griping.

Yeah, he's a feather-fist at 135lbs - so what? If you're a fanboy of Chris Algieri et al you can't outright dismiss someone on the grounds of being a light hitter. So what else is this really about?

One might venture to guess just some kind of baked-in anti-Cuban sentiment...which I would totally get, because there's plenty of uglier aspects of the Cuban boxing style and certain practitioners of it that I myself downright loathe (the whole Barthelemy clan, for instance). But when you are on record being a fan or at least somewhat appreciative of guys like Rigondeaux and Lara, that doesn't track. (and, once again, regarding the feather-fist argument, in the case of El Chacal he does have monstrous KO power, but Lara really doesn't and isn't ever volitionally a stand-and-rumble type unless absolutely forced to be. Lara doesn't have the ugly hold-and-rabbit-punch foibles of some of his countrymen, but is very much a slickster/"runner", so if you like him you can't fault somebody else for having that style)

So really there's nothing to point to for him to bother you that much, except that he is gaining praise for his work in the amateurs. Which...you know, is kind of irrefutably d̶e̶s̶e̶r̶v̶e̶d̶ earned when you have the credentials (tangible ones, as in medals, and quite a respectable list of names faced to collect said medals) that Cruz does.

There are certainly many valid critiques of his chances in the pros. He may have bitten off more than he is able to chew at lightweight, and when he steps up in class might find himself massively outsized in a way that his skills cannot overcome. We don't have any idea yet how Cruz's whiskers hold up to powerful elite in the division. And he doesn't seem to pack a lot of pop at the weight, no. And some of his shots, based on the highlights above (I haven't seen the full ten rounds against Burgos yet, and might not; my overall viewing intake of boxing is vastly depleted from years past) still get thrown in the point-jacking amateur style, with his glove sort of loose and lacking in crispness.

But again - so what? Show me where any hyperbolic statements have been made projecting him to unify all the belts or clean out the division or be a multi-weight champ? All that I said in the OP was that a top guy from the amateurs was debuting, and that's exciting. How does one find any fault with that statement?

He was a top guy and was fun to watch in the amateurs (if you didn't think so, eh, okay, you're certainly entitled to your opinion but it's very much a minority one. All followers of the amateur scene - not just "hipsters" thought he was the goods for the amateurs, with an easy-on-the-eyes style for the amateurs). OBVIOUSLY not all top amateurs translate into successful professional campaigns, and they in fact quite often go bust, especially the ones that lingered overlong in the unpaid ranks gobbling up accolades greedily and had already started to get "old" before switching over - preaching at the choir, there; I've shouted that from the mountaintops a million times myself.

But again, being excited to see a major talent make the jump ≠ proclaiming him a GOAT in the making. Why does everything have to be interpreted as pertaining to some BS imaginary clout? Why are we assuming that somebody ought to get some huge serotonin boost from believing they "discovered" a fighter before they struck it big and before most other fans were put onto them? Even when I've actually done that, what could I possibly expect it to gain me - a cookie? A trophy emblazoned with "I was right!"?. That kind of vicarious bragging is pathetic, and that isn't the least bit my rationale in sharing news about someone. It's just to say "hey, I've been waiting for this guy to debut since his awesome gold medal finals match a couple of years ago" - and that's it.

His sidestep counter jab is ****ing gorgeous, to deny that is simply being a hater just to be one. He's quick, slick, alert with sharp reflexes, defensively fluid, and his punches are pretty accurate if not turned over as well as most of us would prefer (but again...maiden voyage. Growing pains that may or may not be shed).

All the hate and overweaning cynicism over a 1-0 fighter is, as far as I can tell, completely arbitrary.

 

@IntentionalButt

I agree with almost all of your points and think Cruz's performance on Saturday was a B; not an A but also not a C. He has question marks and areas to improve, but he's definitely a talent.

My one caveat to the above is that Cruz and Hearn are doing an awful lot of jaw-jacking on social. They've risked over-introducing him, calling out not only Davis but also Stevenson and others, and as such it's fair for fans to hold Cruz accountable for that.

My hope is they'll slow him down juuuuuuust a touch. I remember when Roy Jones came through, there was a division in his camp whether to fast track him to a title shot at 154 or to build him toward 160 while eliminating some bad habits from the AMs. IIRC, Roy Sr was in the former camp and that was one reason he got exiled from the team. Roy ended up taking about five years before fighting for a title.

I'm not suggesting that Cruz should take that long, but I think a few more developmental fights would be good for him in the long run.

 

Ah...I'm not very in the loop anymore, so wasn't privy to any of that. I just noticed the bout on the BoxRec schedule and immediately made this poll thread as it was my first time knowing about it.

Calling out Keyshawn (if that's who you mean by Davis) makes sense, because he punked him in the Olympic finals and Burgos is a common foe to contrast & compare performances.

Stevenson and Gervonta (if that is the Davis you were referring to) he shouldn't be thinking about yet; definitely needs to say in his lane until he is a bit deeper and more proven.

 

Cruz looked good in his maiden voyage. Showed good speed, pace, punch selection and defense. Stayed composed when Burgos found the occasional route to the body or managed to cuff him to the head every once in a while. Burgos is well past his best before, but he's crafy, tough, and can stll give you hell if you aren't prepared for him (see Angel Fierro). Cruz never really allowed him to gain a foothold, and managed to affect the ultra tough Burgos more than most with a couple of his counters.

There's defintely a lot to work with.

 

Also, given how freaking tough Burgos is, was anyone really expecting Cruz to score a stoppage?

 

I think Hearn was, or at least maybe more of a beatdown so he could talk some more **** to Keyshawn. I was hoping to see more of a rubber band type snap to his reflexes and handspeed, but I agree he's a talent and think people are being too tough on his first performance.

Main thing is to be active. Hope he fights again in a couple months.

 

Out for the count no, but somebody with top caliber skills and much nearer their prime than him you could maybe hope for enough of a precision beatdown to prompt ref intervention. Would've been a huge statement, but definitely not something to hold your breath for when somebody has been a career-long juggernaut like MiniBurgos.

 

Good way of putting what feels like it's missing. He's still doing some of the wet noodle punching that you can get away with in the ams, but not so much now.