Any thoughts on “Stevie” Cruz? He was a plumber from Fort Worth, TX who also became a late replacement for an Argentine fighter that was meant to serve as a showcase performance for Barry McGuigan but ended up upsetting him in a FOTY battle and becoming WBA champ. His next bout would be another great scrap against Roger Arevalo where he wins in a close competitive decision. His reign would be a brief one as he would later lose to the more powerful Antonio Esparragoza but not without an admirable effort. Following that he would challenge for a world title twice more but with no success when he faced Jorge Paez and Paul Hodkinson. Other notable fights he was in was when he beat Tracy Harris Patterson and lose to Manuel Medina and Rafael Ruelas. Although some might think that Cruz’s victory over an ill prepared McGuigan in the scorching heat was merely a fluke I think Cruz doesn’t get enough credit in being a good fighter in his own right. He was also a good counterpuncher as well. This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected
I've not watched these fights before. But Cruz is clearly outboxing and outmoving McGuigan in round 1. McGuigan is an Irishman used to cold weather, it's possible he struggled giving the same high output in a completely different ecosystem. Credit to Cruz though.
A pretty good fight with Jeff Franklin whom Cruz loses to. Would love to see available videos of Cruz’s fights with Tracy Harris Patterson, Tommy Cordova and Rocky Garcia. This content is protected
Cruz was a solid technician with the fundamentals, decent power and grit, but he was not outstanding in any one area, “merely” well-schooled in all aspects. He wasn’t going to outslug you if you were a slugger and wasn’t going to outbox you if you were a boxer, but he’d beat anyone else. His relative lack of strength and power held him back somewhat once he got into rarified air.
Cruz did so well to back from an earlier setback to the erratic Lenny Valdez: This content is protected
Yeah that’s why I don’t put much credence in the ‘Barry was a fish out of water because it was hot in Las Vegas’ stuff … if that was the case, it would have been a one-off and he’d have been back on top pretty quickly. Cruz was just better, and Stevie was at the lower end of world class at that. Barry was a good fighter — a very good fighter — but not a great one. He was overhyped because he was a folk hero in Ireland and a unifying force there culturally for everyone to get behind. He beat a legend in Eusebio Pedroza, but a legend who was getting into last-legs territory after a long period of dominance, and it led to McGuigan being regarded more highly than his CV would suggest. He beat Juan LaPorte in his best pre-championship test, and, let’s face it, Juan was often a reluctant guy. Barry cleaned up a very soft Brit and Euro scene at feather at the time he came along and then coming off Pedroza it’s easy to see why it looked like he might be the next big thing … but in fact he was just very well managed to navigate his path to the top and wasn’t capable of taking another huge step up the ladder. Cruz exposed him, pure and simple.
Not to mention, McGuigan defeated Bernard Taylor in a stifling hot Queen's Hall (I think that was it anyway) in his first title defense. The conditions were apparently pretty rough there, and he was just fine.
It wasn't just the heat. He entered the ring that day with range of problems, from a sprained ankle and a perforated eardrum to having trouble making the weight. He also had to fight yet another substitute opponent with a completely different style than thr original one, and a guy who had already been in training for an opponent with a similar style to McGuigans.
I agree with your points. I did like watching him fight. He just had a style I liked along with a sense of vulnerability. That always made it interesting
That’s what Barry claimed (being made to fight while injured) and he was taken to court for defamation and lost, with McGuigan and the Channel 5 video operation that produced it were found liable with a judgment of more than $2M (which included attorney fees and court costs). So I’d say McGuigan’s claims were tested in a court of law and found wanting.
