Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz vs Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela rematch is being worked on for the co-feature on the David Benavidez vs David Morrell event on January 25 in Las Vegas.
Fernando Sabatino reports X that Jose Benavidez Sr., Benavidez’s father, says that the co-main could be the Cruz vs. Rayo rematch. They are working on it.
This fight will add a lot of value to the headliner between WBA “regular” lightweight champion Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) and interim WBC champion Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs).
The boxing world is already very interested in seeing the Benavidez-Morrell fight, but adding the Valenzuela-Cruz rematch to the card makes it even better.
‘Rayo’ Valenzuela (14-2, 9 KOs) dethroned Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz (26-3-1, 18 KOs), beating him by a split decision over 12 rounds on August 3rd in Los Angeles.
It was pure school from Rayo, who looked like a copy of Vasily Lomachenko, using movement and power shots to dominate the tough Cruz. The 5’10” Valenzuela controlled the much shorter 5’4″ Cruz with his jab and did a good job of getting out of the way of his big power shots.
Rayo-Cruz brand
– 116-112: Lightning
– 116-112: Lightning
– 115-113: Pitbull
It’s unclear what the PPV price will be for the Benavidez-Morrell event, but it will likely be in the $70+ region. Benavidez’s only two PPV events he headlined during his career were in 2023:
– Caleb Plant
– Demetrius Andrade
Neither of those events brought in big PPV numbers, but those weren’t ideal opponents for Benavidez to fight on PPV. Morrell is a different story because he is undefeated, has great power, and is seen as a future star of the sport.
Some believe Morrell has Artur Berterbiev-level punching power. The only thing missing from Morrell’s game is the internal struggle and punch of volume.
Born in Cuba, the 26-year-old Morrell’s popularity skyrocketed during his short five-year pro career, and he captured his first world title in just his fifth fight, beating Mario Abel Cazares by a first-round knockout back to claim. the “regular” WBA super middleweight belt on June 27, 2021.
