A large crowd of 10,230 gathered at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, TX, to watch the pay-per-view fight card headlined by WBC interim junior welterweight champion Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz (28-3-2, 18 KOs) face Lamont Roach (25-1-3, 10 KOs). At the end of the night, when the judges’ scorecards were read, debate started online as the fight ended in a majority draw with fans either satisfied with the draw, believing Cruz had won, or feeling Roach pulled off the victory. With that being said, was this a controversial fight or a story of two halves?
Rounds 1-4 Appeared In Favor of ‘Pitbull’
When the bell rang to start the fight, everyone wondered if Roach, who had only fought once against Gervonta Davis in the lightweight division, could withstand Cruz’s power. There was no better moment than the first round for Cruz to test Roach’s chin, and he did. The mistake Roach made almost immediately was trying to prove how tough he was, which played right into Cruz’s game plan. Roach stayed in the pocket too long, allowing Cruz to unleash his big looping shots.
The second round was no different, but this time, Cruz focused on Roach’s body, which you could see buzzing him at times. This body work paid dividends in the third round when Cruz landed a huge left hook to Roach’s chin, causing him to stumble back with his glove touching the canvas, which was correctly called a knockdown. Cruz tried his best to jump on Roach, but the former super featherweight champion was too experienced to let Cruz take control, so he held him until the bell rang.
Cruz kept pressing in the fourth round as things seemed to favor him, with Roach’s confidence fading away. When the fight reached the fifth round, Roach suddenly flipped the switch, and unexpectedly, the fight took a whole new turn.
Rounds 5-10 Showed A Whole New Roach
As the fifth round unfolded, Roach finally realized that going toe-to-toe with Cruz wasn’t the right strategy, so he decided to do what he’s very good at: box from a distance and figure out his opponent’s timing to land his shots. That’s exactly what happened. Roach started using his left jab to keep his distance and prevent Cruz from getting within range to throw those big looping shots. When Cruz did throw his wide punches, Roach was able to counter them effectively, and frustration began to show on Cruz’s face.
The confident body language turned into one of frustration, and his corner recognized it as the father tried to refocus his son. Cruz was starting to do things he wouldn’t normally do, like stepping back, making facial gestures such as sticking out his tongue, and even dancing at one point during the fight. These were all signs that Cruz was frustrated, and Roach finally managed to tame the ‘Pitbull.’
The Championship Rounds
This is where the momentum shifted from Roach to both fighters having their moments. There wasn’t a clear winner in each of the championship rounds when watching live, but the feeling was that Roach did enough to win at least two of them. Cruz finished the fight stronger than Roach, which proved to be a costly mistake, with all three judges awarding the last round to Cruz. Knowing the fight was close and that he was more of the B-side fighter, Roach should have finished strong. It seemed like he might have let off the gas a bit, but it could also have been his hand, which he later revealed was broken.
The Scorecards
This year, it seems like judges are more likely to have a bad night than a good one. On the surface, if the referee had not deducted a point from Cruz for the low blow, he would have won the fight. That’s what stands out to me because this fight was either a draw or Roach narrowly won a decision.
Let’s look at Judge Chris Tellez, who scored it 115-111 for Cruz. He gave Cruz rounds 9-12 without hesitation. I can see Cruz taking the last two rounds, but rounds nine and ten—where he landed 9 and 7 punches respectively—were questionable. Those were also rounds where he looked confused, so it wasn’t ring generalship that won those rounds for Cruz. So, what did the judge see that made him think Cruz won? Definitely a head-scratcher, especially when he had Cruz winning eight out of the twelve rounds.
Rematch or Nah?
After the fight during the press conference, both Cruz and Roach were campaigning for a rematch. Don’t get me wrong, it was a good fight, but is it one I want to see again? Not really. I don’t think the rematch would be any different. Cruz should aim for a fight against Gary Antuanne Russell, and Roach should pursue a rematch with Tank Davis. Having both fights on the same card and, if they’re successful, doing the rematch afterwards would be ideal. It’s all up to the parties involved and the public to decide whether there’s a desire for an immediate rematch.
Whichever way they go, Saturday night was a solid PPV event, except for the Erislandy Lara snooze fest which had the San Antonio crowd booing. This was a good card for PBC (Premier Boxing Champions) as they aim to start 2026 with a bang.
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