By 
San Antonio, Texas/December 6,2025
By Ron Harris – Fighting in his third different weight class in 3 consecutive fights, Lamont Roach fought to his second straight Majority Draw. This fight was just as controversial as his last fight against Tank Davis, when the referee did not rule that Davis was down after he went to a knee. If he called a knock down as it should have been, Roach would have won the fight. This fight in, San Antonio, Texas, was against Interim Super Light Weight champion Issac “Pitbull” Cruz. Roach (25-1-3) was fighting his first fight at 140 pounds and took control of the fight after the third round and seemingly cruising to a victory. The judges scored it 115-111 for Cruz and 113-113 twice for the majority draw. Cruz will retain his Interim belt.
Cruz, 27, from Mexico, standing at 5’ 4” is known to pressure taller fighters and land hard body shots and sweeping left hooks. He did that in the first 3 rounds and knocked down Roach, when Roach’s glove touched the canvas, in round 3. That was the first time Roach had been knocked down. Roach looked frustrated and at one point yelled at the pro Cruz crowd. After round 3, Roach seemed to calm down and went toe to toe with Cruz landing some hard left hooks and right hands to Cruz’s head. His left hook found Cruz’s head throughout the fight. In the middle rounds, Roach’s hard punches took their toll on Cruz (28-3-2), and he started backing up and stopped throwing punches. That is one reason Roach’s corner was so shocked with the judges’ scores. It is hard to win a round when no punches are thrown. Roach was disappointed, “All I want is a fair shake, that’s it. This is some BS. I don’t know what I have to do,” Roach referring to this fight and his last fight against Davis. “I don’t accept this at all. I will go back to the drawing board, but I am tired of this sh__t. Once I got into my groove, I had to bully the bully, I started to push him back and he changed his game plan. My hat is off to Pitbull he is a tough champion.” Cruz says, “I did my job, I did my work. The referee [James Green], was on his side.” Green deducted a point from Cruz in round 7 for hitting in the hip area of Roach. Green had gestured via hand signals to Cruz to keep his punches up on several occasions. “I would like a rematch, but with a different referee. I thought I won, and this crowd knows I won,” Judging a pro fight is difficult. Each judge gets a different view of the fighters, and it is hard to figure out what they see at times.
Roach, 30, from Washington, DC has really matured into a tough main event, pay per view fighter. He adjusted in mid-fight against Cruz as he did against Tank Davis. He proved he can take some hard shots, stand and fight or move and box. There is good competition at 140 pounds, if that is where Roach will stay. He could also consider going back to 135. Roach gave up his championship at 130 pounds once the bell rang for round one of this fight. One of the world champions at the 140-pound weight is another DC fighter, Antuanne Russel. Sounds like a good match.
Photo credit: Dylan Trevino
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