Spence dominates Cruz en route to lopsided unanimous decision win

 

Credit: Esther Lin / SHOWTIME
Credit: Esther Lin / SHOWTIME

After it was questioned to how former 2012 U.S. Olympian Errol Spence Jr. would do as he stepped up in competition he showed why he’s nicknamed “The Truth” in his lopsided unanimous decision victory over Ronald Cruz Friday night at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on the ShoBox televised card.

Leaving Cruz’s face battered only added to the proof that Spence handed him a one-sided beating en route to the three judges ringside each scoring the bout 100-90.

Right out the gate Spence showed that he was on a different level than Cruz, landing shots to Cruz’s head and body at will. It was evident right away that this fight wasn’t going to be a good one for Cruz who boasted a better list of competitors coming into the bout.

Trying everything he could do to gain an edge Cruz (20-4, 15 KOs) made the fight very physical, but Spence (13-0, 10 KOs) didn’t let that throw him off and he remained focused.

“He did [try to rough me up] and I stayed composed and I stuck to the game plan and I was thinking throughout the whole fight,” Spence said to reporters ringside shortly after the bout.

Early in the fight Spence saw that Cruz was using his right hand to try and deflect his punches, creating a blind spot, so he threw his left hook early and often, causing much of the damage to Cruz’s cut right eye.

“I seen that he was blocking with his right hand so he was kind of blinded so I threw it because I knew it was on his blindside and it just landed every time,” Spence said.

Going to the body as much as he did Cruz’s head, Spence’s superb body attack played a big role toward the latter part of the fight as Cruz was gassed in the last few rounds. With Cruz being heavy-legged Spence was able to land his most devastating shots of the fight in rounds nine and 10, and an early stoppage wouldn’t have been a controversial decision here.

Spence proved all the hype surrounding him after a stellar amateur career was not a fluke and is steadily fighting his way up to being a real contender in the 147-pound welterweight division.

The bout marked the first time Spence went a full 10 rounds and was just the second scheduled 10 rounder of his career—he won via Round 1 TKO his last time out in Arpil—and he said it was a good thing to go the distance.

“It was my first time going 10 rounds,” Spence said. “I proved I could go 10 rounds and keep up a high volume pace.”

Stepping up his completion is what Spence plans to keep doing after fighting increasingly better opposition each time out. After defeating a usually tough fighter easily Spence is ready to raise the bar yet again the next time he steps in the ring.

“I wanted this fight, I wanted this fight and when I was 8-0 I fought somebody 16-0 and I wanted to heighten my competition and fight better fighters,” Spence explained. “I got a great fighter here… and I think we’re going to move forward to September and up the level in competition because I dominated tonight.”

Undercard results

Dominic Wade def. Nick Brinson via  UD

Marcus Browne (11-0, 8 KOs) def.   Donta Woods (8-3, 7 KOs)via Round 1 TKO