Andy Cruz (5-0, 2 KOs) says he walked up to Keyshawn Davis and Shakur Stevenson in a “weird” meeting following his 10-round unanimous decision win over Omar Salcido (20-2, 14 KOs) at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on Saturday night.
(Credit: Melina Pizano/Matchroom)
A Haunted Look From Keyshawn
Shakur was impressed with the lightweight contender Cruz’s win, saying he’d looked “amazing.” Keyshawn looked in shock, like he’d seen a ghost, and you could tell from looking at him that Cruz’s performance tonight had intimidated him, giving him flashbacks to his victory over him in the 2020 Olympics.
If there was any chance of Keyshawn fighting Cruz soon, it disappeared with his performance tonight because he’s even better than he was five years ago when he schooled him in the Olympics. Cruz’s trainer, Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis, is turning him into a more offensive fighter who sits down on shots more. In the tenth round, Cruz had Salcido badly hurt and forced to hold. That had never happened to him before.
The scores were 99-91, 98-92, and 98-92 for Cruz.
Bozy’s Praise
“He would have been out if Andy hadn’t paused. He hit him with some good shots, but he paused sometimes,” said trainer Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis to Fighthype, arguing that Andy Cruz would have knocked out Omar Salcido if he hadn’t paused after hitting him with good shots.
“You saw when he buckled him a couple of times. He looked, and then he went after him. Once you do that, you’ve got to finish him off. He’s picking it up nice. I gave him an A,” said Bozy on Cruz’s performance. “He won every round, and he did it against a puncher.
“He’s progressing every time. He fought a dude that was 20-1. That boy wasn’t no slouch. He could take a punch, and he could fight. So, Andy is right there. I give him until the end of this year for title contention. Whoever has got the tiles, that’s who we want.
The “Weird” Meeting
“I see Andy giving anybody trouble in the division. I don’t care who it is. Anybody. At the end of 2025 [Cruz fights for a world title,” said Ennis.
“Objective completed, and I’m going to keep on to the top,” said Andy Cruz. “They were acting a little weird, but Keyshawn is my son, and Shakur said, ‘What’s up, too,’” said Cruz about him walking up to Shakur Stevenson and Keyshawn David after his win over Salido.
