Discussing the January 24 bout, Cruz said he fought as if he were already the champion somewhat than the challenger.
“Really, in that fight, I fought like I used to be the champion and he was the challenger,” Andy Cruz said to the BoxeoUrbanoNetwork. “What happened was I got comfortable. I could have taken a bit more risk, but I said, because he was the champion, I’m not going to risk getting hit with even one punch. I desired to beat him clean. I wanted my punches to be the cleanest. I believe I used to be the more practical fighter, but I’m conscious that once you fight a champion, you could have to go well above the champion.”
Cruz (6-1, 3 KOs) lost a 12-round majority decision to Muratalla in a competitive fight that many observers felt was considerably closer than the official scores of 118-110, 116-112, and 114-114. Although he spent much of the fight boxing defensively, Cruz landed several of the cleaner and more damaging shots against Muratalla.
The 2020 Olympic gold medalist still believes a rematch is warranted and says the champion wouldn’t see the identical version of him in the event that they meet again.
“I wanted the rematch immediately,” Cruz said. “However it’s going to occur this fashion, and that’s tremendous with me. I can’t complain because I’m being given a possibility to fight for a title soon if I get through this eliminator. What I can say is that he knows he won’t be facing the identical Andy Cruz.”
Before any rematch might be discussed, Cruz must get past Bell (28-0, 9 KOs), an unbeaten contender known for his height, reach, and technical style. The winner will move into position because the leading challenger for an IBF title shot.
MurataIla is scheduled to defend his IBF lightweight title against Robson Conceicao on August 1. If he retains the belt and stays at 135 kilos, the winner of Cruz-Bell can be in line to challenge for the championship.
