Round Up: Cruz Beats Honorio By Unanimous Decision

FIGHT: LUIS CRUZ, 17-0, 14 KOs, Las Piedras, Puerto Rico vs. MARTIN HONORIO, 29-5-1, 15 KOs, Mexico City

DIVISION: Super Featherweights – 12 Rounds

RESULT: Cruz Wins by Unanimous Decision

DETAIL: In front of an often boisterous hometown crowd, Cruz put on a counter-punching clinicagainst the veteran Honorio in a fight that was closer than the unanimous decision victory would suggest. It was the first of two fights featuring the storied Puerto Rico-Mexico rivalry.

(The other bout featured Puerto Rican featherweight champion Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez versus former Mexican champ Orlando Salido.)

Though Honorio was the busier fighter most of the time, Cruz’s accuracy and technical prowess had more effect. Cruz used the ring well, as he fed Honorio a steady diet of left hooks and uppercuts.

Honorio, meanwhile, focused primarily on body work, which seemed to hurt Cruz a bit in the fifth. Otherwise, however, the assault had little impact on the 25-year-old Puerto Rican.

That said, there were some heated, violent exchanges in several of the rounds, most notably the third, fifth, and sixth, which saw the most action of any round. After getting whacked by a short left hook by Cruz, Honorio came back with a pair of flush rights, which hurt Cruz. But, as he’d done for most of the fight, Cruz kept his head and answered with a hard uppercut.

In the final round, Cruz turned it on, earning applause from the highly partisan Puerto Rican audience.

The judges scored it 100-90, 96-94, and 98-92.