Cruz announced move in weight ahead of next fight.
Sometimes, there are fighters whose amateur accomplishments carry over into the professional circuit, those who are such good boxers that they end up being fast-tracked as soon as they start punching for pay.
They come around every now and then, and they make a certain impression with everyone in the sport. There are those who see their established reputations as sufficient reasoning to move them so quickly, while others think they should fight for their opportunities the same as other contenders do.
Of course, the most famous example of one of these fighters–in recent times, at least–is Vasiliy Lomachenko, the Ukrainian master who challenged for a major world title in his second professional fight and won one in his third.
An even more recent example is Andy Cruz, the Cuban former Olympic gold medallist who most recently fought Raymond Muratalla for his IBF lightweight world title.
Quite like Lomachenko, though, Cruz was not successful in his endeavour to become world champion in his first try of asking. In a minor upset, he was beaten on the cards after an entertaining battle to suffer his first defeat.
Originally, Cruz was to return from that setback by facing Albert Bell in an eliminator to determine who would get to fight Muratalla after. However, after Joe Cordina withdrew from his WBO lightweight title fight with Abdullah Mason earlier this month, Bell took the opportunity to challenge for the title himself.
As a result, Cruz will instead be facing experienced, never-before-stopped Mexican campaigner Abraham Montoya, who has gone the distance with multiple respectable names and even owns a win over former featherweight champion Luis Alberto Lopez.
Cruz has announced that for his fight with Montoya, he will be moving down to super-featherweight, where many interesting potential opponents await him.
🚨 CRUZ TO MOVE DOWN TO SUPER FEATHER
📉 Andy Cruz has confirmed that he will officially be moving down to the super featherweight division after his return on Saturday against Abraham Montoya.
👀 Matchroom also represents Ray Ford and Sugar Nunez at 130 pounds. pic.twitter.com/gCNQ2qUcwn
— EverythingBoxing | Darshan Desai (@EverythingBoxi2) July 16, 2026
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