Isaac Cruz Wants Ryan Garcia

Isaac Cruz has set his sights on a catchweight clash with Ryan Garcia.

Ryan is currently preparing for an expected February showdown with WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios, but for Cruz, he has made it clear that “King Ry” remains his primary target. The Mexican , who typically campaigns at 140 pounds, says a catchweight between the super-lightweight and welterweight limits would be the “ideal solution.”

Cruz is coming off a majority draw against Lamont Roach Jr. in December, a result that allowed him to retain his interim WBC interim super-lightweight title but left him hungry for a definitive victory. Before that fight, Cruz rebuilt his momentum with a unanimous decision win over Angel Fierro and a win against Omar Salcido, following his 2024 WBA 140-pound title loss to Jose Valenzuela.

By targeting Garcia, Cruz is looking to capitalize on the vulnerability “King Ry” showed in his recent loss to Rolando “Rolly” Romero. Cruz believes his aggressive, face-first style is the perfect foil for Garcia’s low-volume approach.

Cruz On Garcia

“That fight has been brewing for almost three years now, and I think it would be more than attractive to all of the fans. Those would be points to discuss internally. I think [the fight could happen] in an intermediate category, or a [catchweight],” Cruz said

Cruz will face competition from Conor Benn, who is the WBC number-one ranked contender at 147. His camp have said they want the winner of Garcia vs. Barrios.

“Ultimately, that’s what we want. Conor’s mandatory for the winner of that fight. We know we take thousands and thousands of Brits to Las Vegas and hopefully Ryan can come through and we can make that fight. I think it’s a mega fight. I think it’s two guys with massive profile, two guys that are very exciting to watch. So let’s see what happens between Ryan and Barrios and Conor is waiting, ready to go,” Hearn said