Ryan Garcia says Lamont Roach made the error of not continuing to swing away with nonstop punches within the eleventh and twelfth rounds against Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz last Saturday night.
Garca believes that Roach’s decision to stop throwing occasionally allowed Cruz (28-3-2, 18 KOs) to win rounds 11 and 12 to salvage a 12-round majority draw of their important event fight in San Antonio, Texas.
“I might say that he [Roach] was fighting his style for many of the fight. But then Lamont did the suitable thing, which I assumed was the smart thing to do. People were attempting to bash him, but stepping to ‘Pitbull,’” said Ryan Garcia to Ring Magazine, analyzing last Saturday’s fight between Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz and Lamont Roach.
Pitbull’s Second Wind in 11 & 12
What Ryan is failing to know is that Roach’s success in rounds 7 through 10 was attributable to Cruz’s fading. His high-pressure style caught as much as him in those rounds, causing him to let his foot off the accelerator.
Nevertheless, when ‘Pitbull’ got his second wind starting within the eleventh, he retook control over the fight, chasing Roach down, battering him with shots. Those last two rounds resembled the primary half of the fight with ‘Pitbull’ Cruz getting the higher of Roach, who lacked the facility and inside game to stop him.
“‘Pitbull’ can’t fight [going] back to avoid wasting his life,” said Garcia. “So, once Lamont began doing that, he began breaking ‘Pitbull’ down a little bit bit. ‘Pitbull’ got uncomfortable and didn’t really know what to do with it. He decided to go on his bike, act like he was boxing. He can’t box.”
The Controversial Low Blow Call
Ryan is talking concerning the success Roach had when Cruz gassed out in the center rounds. Interestingly, he didn’t mention the controversial low blow, no-warning call by the referee James Green within the seventh.
Replays showed that the punch was on the beltline, not low, meaning the referee made a mistake in penalizing Cruz. That mistake cost Cruz the victory and saved Roach from a loss.
“When the tenth or eleventh round got here, I feel ‘Pitbull’ caught him again with and form of shook him, that form of made the fight a draw because then ‘Pitbull’ stole the eleventh and twelfth, which is mind-blowing because Lamont had the momentum. But he didn’t go into, ‘I’m making a press release now.’ He could have kept hitting him, but he would stop,” said Ryan.
Why Roach Stopped Letting His Hands Go
Roach needed to stop throwing because he was getting hit back when he was throwing combos. He’d already been knocked down by Cruz within the third and hurt multiple times. He couldn’t just swing away mindlessly without worrying concerning the punches ‘Pitbull’ was throwing back. Ryan’s perception of the fight is off, suggesting he wasn’t watching closely enough to see what was actually happening.
Last Updated on 12/09/2025