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SportsTranscript
00:00 Here's good.
00:01 Aqui bueno.
00:02 Give me a good, clean fight.
00:03 Obey my commands.
00:04 Protect yourselves at all times.
00:05 Touch gloves.
00:06 Good luck.
00:07 Ruben Villa's mission tonight is clear.
00:10 He and his trainers told us, "Look, I'm number two in the world.
00:14 An impressive win against Christian Cruz puts me in the number one spot for Ray Vargas and a title shot."
00:22 Hey, hey, hey.
00:23 You're a big advocate of earn your mandatory shot.
00:27 Earn your mandatory shot.
00:28 Absolutely right.
00:29 Because the nature of this business, if you're not greasing pockets, changing the bodies and this,
00:36 trust me, you've got to become that number one mandatory to be able to get a shot at the title.
00:41 Tim, what was your ranking right before you fought for a world title?
00:45 Where did it go?
00:46 I was at number 15, I think.
00:48 And I went to the WBC convention.
00:51 I think we were out in Spain.
00:53 And when I left there on the flight home, I was number two.
00:58 [laughter]
01:02 I was number two.
01:04 But that's what happens is that you get all the promoters in the room,
01:08 and what ends up happening is that they argue for their fighter to be named--
01:14 It's called lobbying.
01:15 Yeah, well, you've got the professional word, lobbying.
01:20 You argue for your fighter's position and why he belongs in this position.
01:24 Well, Christian Cruz always wanted to be in this position because he is the son of a former world champion.
01:32 El Lacandon Cruz had the chance of calling a lot of Cristobal's fights early on in his career
01:40 before he became a world champion.
01:42 He says, "I got his fighting spirit. Didn't want me to be a fighter, but here I am regardless."
01:50 He's an awkward fighter.
01:51 Extremely awkward fighter. He fights for many positions.
01:54 He comes from the right-handed stance, southpaw.
01:57 You'll see him switch every now and then, change his rhythm up really well.
02:03 Really hard to time.
02:05 He's 21-1 since losing five of his first seven fights.
02:09 I said, "What do you mean, man? You're the son of a former world champion.
02:12 Why didn't they take care of you early on in Tijuana?"
02:15 And he's like, "Man, you would never believe what happened."
02:18 One of my early fights, my fourth professional loss, was against Ryan Garcia.
02:24 And he said, "They lied to me. They told me I was fighting Brian Garcia."
02:29 And then Brian came in after I weighed in, weighed three pounds heavier than me, and beat me.
02:35 That's dirty.
02:37 We just said, "Brian Garcia."
02:40 Imagine if they did that to Devin Haney, but I was fighting Ryan Garcia.
02:47 Nice left hand there from Cruz.
02:50 Got his attention, too.
02:51 Absolutely, he did.
02:52 And you want to know something. It's different when you're facing southpaw, facing another southpaw.
02:57 He used to move in the opposite way.
02:59 His defensive responsibilities that he used to see in the orthodox fighter is no longer there.
03:03 So he runs into problems like this.
03:05 You've got to spend hours and hours in the gym sparring left-handed fighters and you being that left-handed.
03:11 Because you rarely ever see a matchup like this in boxing.
03:14 And Villa mentioned that. He said, "Look, it took me like three days of sparring to finally figure this out."
03:20 But once I get my distance, I think I'm going to be okay, even against Cruz.
03:25 You see the awkwardness fighting from any position?
03:28 From Cruz? Cruz is dangerous, man.
03:40 Sam and Max Garcia with the instructions.
03:42 Prove it.
03:43 You just have to keep your eyes up and chin down and keep those hands in good placement.
03:52 Good placement and just keep backing them up with the jab.
03:55 We're going to dominate you with the front hand.
03:57 Just keep backing them up with the jab.
03:59 More jabs, but you've got to be quick and you've got to be confident with it.
04:02 And you've got to step with it.
04:04 Everything over the top.
04:05 Keep going everything over the top.
04:07 Go underneath it and count it.
04:09 If he throws some lazy ass jab, you've got to take care of it, okay?
04:12 It means you've got to counter that.
04:14 If he throws a lazy ass jab, you've got to counter it right away.
04:17 Don't let him get away with pawing.
04:19 Sam Garcia and Max Garcia, his father, have been with DRAX since his fourth professional fight.
04:30 Ruben Villa, a very skilled fighter.
04:34 Let's see how long it takes for him to figure out this awkward style of Christian Cruz.
04:39 Yeah, it really is somewhat, I don't want to say it's off rhythm.
04:44 He's pretty sporadic in moments.
04:50 He'll get aggressive and he has the ability to punch in any position equally on both sides.
04:57 So when you think that you're safe, you're not.
05:02 And when you think about quality sparring, he spent time last year out there in Japan sparring Naoya Inoue.
05:11 He told me, "I took away that Inoue's technique, his precision, and his discipline are at another level."
05:19 Absolutely.
05:20 And he said that he's got a warrior's heart.
05:23 If you land a shot, he's like, "He's coming back to get you."
05:26 Come on now. Absolutely.
05:28 He got his jaw, he got his face smashed in by Donaire the first time, and he still was able to come back.
05:34 Broken orbital, my goodness.
05:36 Because I was seeing two Donaires.
05:38 Didn't matter.
05:40 Didn't matter.
05:41 Listen, listen, listen, listen.
05:43 That was you too, you started it.
05:44 And that's the reason why you don't say "break."
05:47 That's why you say "stop."
05:49 That action stops.
05:51 You see a stop sign, what do you do?
05:53 You're supposed to stop, unless you're in California where we just run up.
05:56 [laughs]
05:58 But you stop, not break.
06:01 Ooh, that was a nice jab from Villa.
06:03 And Villa is well-schooled, well-educated, good footwork, gets himself in good positioning.
06:11 You know, one of the things that he told us is that what he learned from fighting for the world championships is that he had to become meaner, become a little bit more aggressive with his offense.
06:23 I mean, how good is he that despite going down in the first and fourth round, it was still a competitive fight against him.
06:31 Yes, it was, because he was coming back on the back end of the fight, and he was making up for that.
06:36 They paid for his mistakes, because he's a disciplined boxer.
06:40 And he knows how to adjust.
06:41 He and his corner have a great demeanor and a great communication as well.
06:45 Really good chemistry.
06:47 Ooh, that's a nice therapy from Villa.
06:48 Yes, it sure was.
06:51 Let's go, break, stop.
06:54 There you go.
06:55 He went from break to stop, and then it stopped.
06:58 He's getting confused.
07:00 Again, see that upper position, nothing landed right there, but he was in such an upper position, still able to throw punches.
07:11 Back there, Villa committed and then he got countered by a right hook.
07:17 Cruz is something else, man. He's seeking his spite at times, too, and he's physically strong.
07:22 Villa, on the other hand, is going to be smooth in and out.
07:25 He's always looking to get himself in good position.
07:27 I mentioned Naoya Inoue sparring Christian Cruz.
07:31 It won't be sparring, at least, Dede, the villain, visits the Tokyo Dome.
07:36 He has this seek and destroy type of style.
07:47 Big right hand from Naoya Inoue.
07:49 Inoue is making this look easy.
07:52 The monster on the attack.
07:54 Early the morning of May 6th, you will see the monster, Naoya Inoue, one of ESPN's top two pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
08:13 $20 million gate, over 55,000 fans in the Tokyo Dome to see the monster, Tim.
08:19 He is a global superstar.
08:21 Some people believe he needs to come to America.
08:25 America needs him. He don't need America.
08:30 What is it? How many does that place see?
08:33 55,000 people. Super rockstar boxer.
08:37 No need for him to come to the States.
08:39 He's making as much money as he wants to make over there.
08:41 He has total control. If you want to beat him, you got to go see him.
08:45 There's very few fighters that would warrant a visit from Naoya Inoue to the United States.
08:51 That would only be moving up to lightweight and beyond.
08:55 Any smaller fighter at 130 or below, you got to go to the monster. Period.
09:01 I wish he would come here, but...
09:05 Because he's fun to watch.
09:07 He is fun to watch.
09:09 You know how many people in Japan versus America?
09:12 Head up. Head up.
09:14 That's a huge market.
09:16 It sure is. They pay well.
09:17 And they love him over there.
09:19 And they hate Louie's name, let me tell you.
09:22 Oh yeah, he's one in the hostile territory.
09:24 That's nothing new to Nary. He don't care.
09:27 Short right hook there from Cruz.
09:33 Beat ya quick with the counter.
09:35 Yeah, if he is jabbing, this is the difference.
09:39 He's sharp on the jab. Staying consistent with it.
09:44 You see him going in and out, trying to change up his range.
09:48 There it is again. That jab is something else.
09:51 I snapped that neck back.
09:53 You see now, he's thrown off the rhythm of Cruz just with that jab.
10:00 Popping him with that jab.
10:02 Every time he can hit with a jab, you gotta reset.
10:05 You gotta reset.
10:07 But yes, you're right.
10:11 And it makes you, whatever you thought you were gonna do, you have to rethink it.
10:15 Because that's the quickest punch in the whole arsenal for an opponent.
10:20 A straight shot, lightning quick like that one.
10:23 Boy, they're sneaking little shots in there.
10:29 Little pepper shots.
10:31 Ooh, nice left uppercut right there.
10:35 That was nice.
10:37 Well timed by Villa.
10:40 This is a nip and tuck fight, Tim.
10:51 They both are excelling at what they do best.
10:53 It's just the quickness and that jab of Villa making a difference.
10:56 Making a difference. Yes, it is.
10:58 But you got Cruz that's sneaking little body shots on the inside.
11:02 He's hoping that's gonna help him later in the fight and get Villa in a dogfight.
11:07 But now Villa lands a nice right to the body.
11:10 Well, he woke him up.
11:12 Sometimes you forget, right, how much a body shot hurts until you get hit.
11:16 And then you get hit and then you do the same thing. Copycat.
11:27 Tonight on ESPN, EFE and Guglielmo Villanueva co-feature.
11:31 They know each other very well, having sparred quite a few times in the past.
11:34 Tonight, they'll put what they've learned to the test.
11:37 Time!
11:38 I sparred with EFE many times.
11:44 I know EFE from a couple of years.
11:46 But the fight is different from the sparring.
11:49 I'm ready to fight in all different ways and see what EFE can do.
11:56 The way he throws the punch, the right hand, it's very overlapped.
11:59 His best punch is overlapped right hand.
12:02 He moves his feet on sideways, you know, so that's the stuff I learned from him.
12:06 EFE doesn't do nothing better than me.
12:08 But he's strong. He's okay.
12:11 I think that I can be smarter than him.
12:14 I got more experience than Guido. If you look at our record.
12:17 EFE and Jaguar in his locker room.
12:23 Tim, when you think about these guys, they're so respectful.
12:27 But there's a little rivalry brewing between them.
12:30 As it should.
12:32 That's what this competition is all about.
12:35 You're underneath the same banner.
12:37 You guys are after the same thing.
12:39 And when you're put together, the strong man will move on at the end of the day.
12:45 So again, this fight right here is important for both these guys' careers.
12:49 This is one of those fights where it's like, the loser, you go home.
12:53 And you don't return.
12:55 Pink slip type of fight. Bye bye.
12:57 EFE and Jaguar rank number 4 in the world.
13:00 The fighter out of Nigeria will put that on the line against Guido Villanueva.
13:06 You know what that's called? I call that spring clean.
13:10 That's what it's called.
13:11 It's so poetic sometimes too.
13:13 Thank you.
13:14 You know who was poetic in the corner of Ruben Villa?
13:16 It was Sam Garcia telling him, keep throwing that left hand because he's walking right into it.
13:23 He needs to tell him to keep throwing that jab.
13:25 Keep throwing the jab. Keep throwing that jab.
13:27 That jab is butter.
13:30 It is butter.
13:31 It's a knife cutting through butter.
13:33 Look at you. Nice. I like that.
13:36 Nice cutting through butter.
13:39 And you want to make it even smoother?
13:41 Make it a hot knife cutting through butter.
13:43 At those fancy restaurants.
13:46 But he's going to have to add that left hand, which is the bread.
13:50 You put butter on that BB sandwich of yours?
13:52 No, mayonnaise.
13:54 The BB sandwich with the bacon?
13:56 The bacon and put a little mayonnaise on it?
13:58 It's all good.
14:00 Man, it's delicious.
14:02 Nice combination from Ruben Villa.
14:04 And again, off the jab.
14:06 Off the jab.
14:08 Disrupt timing.
14:10 Rhythm of the opponent.
14:13 He has to reset every time you hit him with the jab.
14:16 It doesn't matter if you touch him with the jab to the chest.
14:18 You see he has to bag out, reposition himself.
14:20 Every time you hit him with that lead hand, gives you an opportunity to be in control.
14:26 And be able to set up some power shots down the line.
14:29 And that's why it's so hard for Villa to get title shots as a southpaw.
14:34 He got his title shot against Emmanuel Navarrete.
14:37 Didn't win the bacon title.
14:39 His biggest win is against El Venado Luis Alberto Lopez, who is currently a champion.
14:45 Venado's a different animal than when he fought him now.
14:47 True.
14:48 I'm letting you know that right now.
14:50 Anybody facing Venado's going to have hell to walk through.
14:54 Yes.
14:55 Yes.
14:57 Way different fighter.
14:59 But Villa's different too. He's much improved.
15:02 I think he sits down on his punches a lot more.
15:05 Like we're seeing here, working downstairs, working behind that jab.
15:10 Oh yeah. But if you stay in front of Venado doing that...
15:14 Good luck.
15:15 Yeah.
15:16 You know, when Venado will have to go look for you, you make it easy for him.
15:24 So it would probably be a different game plan if he was to fight him again.
15:29 I'm sure he'd be able to control the outside.
15:31 But I do like this work coming from Villa.
15:33 He's standing his ground. Both guys are coming back with firepower.
15:37 But I like the way that he's just standing his ground.
15:40 He's a lot more tactical on the inside. Shorter and compact with his punches as well.
15:45 It's really good inside work by him.
15:48 Let's listen to the Garcias go to work.
15:50 Listen.
15:55 You go a little bit slant behind your jab.
16:00 Keep that jab long.
16:03 You understand?
16:04 Yeah.
16:05 And then double it up and just bring your feet with you.
16:08 And then when you're throwing...
16:10 Oh, it's the jabs.
16:13 Oh, it's the governor tonight, baby.
16:15 Taking control of this fight.
16:18 You know, when you're able to set up stuff like that, man, again...
16:23 That right there is the set up shot.
16:27 To be able to set up your power hands, your left hooks, your right hands.
16:31 And allow you to disguise a lot of your offense.
16:34 And again, it kills your opponent's rhythm or whatever he's thinking in that moment.
16:38 It kills that.
16:39 You know, you're in total control of him.
16:41 And Villa understands that.
16:44 And he's using the jab to win this fight tonight.
16:47 Christian Cruz had five knockouts in his first 15 pro fights.
16:53 Six in his last 14.
16:55 Now training with Guillermo Arias out in Tijuana.
16:58 You know you can win a round just with the jab.
17:05 He's done a lot of that.
17:07 You can just win a round.
17:09 I mean, I would tell him, just keep jabbing, son.
17:11 Keep your back hand up, 'cause it looks like your eyes are starting to swell a little bit.
17:15 Correct.
17:16 Just keep using, keep circling to your left.
17:19 To your right, excuse me.
17:21 Keep circling to your right and use that jab.
17:24 Make it easy for yourself.
17:26 Nice work to the body, too, from Villa here in the fifth round.
17:31 Oh, nice.
17:34 A return fire from Cruz downstairs.
17:36 Oh, you want to sit in front of me?
17:38 Okay, sit in front of me.
17:39 You don't want to shoot a jab?
17:40 All right, I'm gonna dig downstairs.
17:42 Good idea right there from Cruz.
17:45 Yeah, but Villa lays off the jab.
17:50 That's Cruz's opportunity to do exactly that.
17:52 Counter with the left hook and go downstairs.
17:54 He made him pay for the jab, this time.
17:56 That was good timing right there from Cruz.
17:59 Came right over the top of the jab of Villa.
18:02 Oh, popped his head up.
18:06 Pac-Man.
18:08 Oh, the feet are all wrong.
18:12 The feet are all wrong for Cruz.
18:15 Yeah, his feet are all over the place.
18:19 You know, when he's out of position, when he's out of breath,
18:22 when he doesn't have his footing underneath him
18:24 and he's playing with his feet, got happy feet,
18:26 he's getting hit with shots.
18:28 Nice body work there from Cruz.
18:35 Good round for the fighter out of Tijuana.
18:37 [crowd shouting]
19:00 Break. I got you.
19:02 [crowd shouting]
19:13 Good action here in the fifth round.
19:15 The corner of Cruz is asking him to pressure.
19:30 Nice counter from Cruz.
19:31 Let him go, let him go.
19:34 Cruz on the inside, having some success against Villa
19:40 who lands a nice left uppercut here to close out this fifth round
19:45 as we get to the midway point of this fight.
19:47 Time.
19:49 And tonight's main event features Jaron Anderson,
19:54 the undefeated American prospect against Riyad Murray.
19:57 Seven years older is the Belgian fighter.
20:00 The advantage though is in height.
20:03 5'9" against 6'4", Tim.
20:06 He's about a year and a little bit taller than your Riyad Murray.
20:08 But it's only a 3.5 inch reach advantage.
20:11 But look at the difference in experience.
20:13 177 rounds compared to 46.
20:16 And that could be a difference maker for Riyad Murray
20:20 in terms of making Jaron Anderson work tonight.
20:23 Man, they look like they're almost the same height
20:25 when they stood side by side at the weigh-ins, didn't they?
20:29 You don't think they did?
20:30 They look similar height to me.
20:32 But 5'9"? I don't know.
20:35 We had about 5'11" coming in, which seemed more real.
20:38 Look, they look similar height, maybe one or two inches off, if that.
20:42 You know, he don't look that much shorter than Jaron, however.
20:45 That could work in his favor.
20:48 When you're a small guy, you're used to facing bigger guys, bigger men.
20:52 He was a small cruiserweight as well.
20:55 One of the things that Jaron has is that he has the ability to put numbers up.
21:01 Him coming from the cruiserweight division,
21:04 he should be able to match Jaron in that department.
21:07 The punch-output department.
21:10 Which could make things interesting for Jaron Anderson.
21:13 But Jaron Anderson averages 22 landed out of 50 per round that he throws.
21:18 Now, Murray only throws 38 per round and lands 11.
21:23 So Jaron is a very active heavyweight.
21:25 Again, he's going to have to be active tonight.
21:28 And I understand in the fight, he told us that he wants to be second tonight.
21:32 He wants to let Jaron lead so he can counterpunch him in between and make him pay for his mistakes.
21:39 However, I don't think that's going to work.
21:41 Jaron's going to put that pressure on him.
21:43 If he doesn't feel any resistance, Jaron is not going to let off the gas.
21:47 That is an absolute truth.
21:49 There is Riyad Murray, the former cruiserweight champion and bridgerweight challenger.
21:55 He says, "My real weight is bridgerweight."
21:57 But the heavyweight money and the heavyweight opportunities, I got to take.
22:01 What the hell is bridgerweight?
22:02 It's that new division that WBC made up between 200 and 224.
22:06 I don't even count that as a division in the box.
22:10 I don't care what the WBC says.
22:12 Bridgerweight is heavyweight, cruiserweight.
22:15 Period.
22:16 Temporarily unspoken.
22:19 He's already got 16 divisions going.
22:22 Add another one?
22:23 Makes no sense to me.
22:25 However, you notice I'm noticing about Vio.
22:28 Every time I watch a fight, it don't matter who he's facing or what level.
22:33 He's always in a gritty, tough game.
22:36 True.
22:37 He always leaves his face marked up.
22:42 And it has a lot to do with the fact of his style.
22:47 Now he's getting more aggressive.
22:49 And yes, that's fan-pleasing.
22:51 Don't get me wrong.
22:52 It is fan-pleasing.
22:54 But at the same time, that can wear on you after a while.
22:57 The kid has skills.
22:59 And if he can use his skills more often than none, it'll be better off for him.
23:03 It'll suit him better in this fight or later in his career as well.
23:06 But in the corner, Sam Garcia told Vio, "Look, the time for jabbing is over.
23:11 It's time to go in pressure."
23:13 So we're seeing a more aggressive Vio, but that also opens him up to Cristobal Cruz or Christian Cruz.
23:20 That ain't a big shot.
23:22 Well, what they're doing now is they're forcing Cruz.
23:26 And they're putting him in a position where now he's going to have to take more chances as well.
23:31 Because he's feeling that pressure coming from Vio.
23:34 And Vio wants to separate himself right now in this fight.
23:38 Again, these rounds are going back and forth.
23:40 That last round, you thought maybe Cruz won that round.
23:44 Well, this round, Vio wants to separate himself in this fight.
23:50 He wants to show his dominance.
23:52 And we'll listen in to the corner of Ruben Villasea, how they assess his performance in that sixth round.
24:08 Don't give him any momentum, okay?
24:11 No momentum.
24:12 Give him some water.
24:15 Don't let him get any momentum.
24:17 Hands high. Hands nice and high.
24:19 Good hard jab.
24:21 Good head moving inside.
24:24 Good head moving inside.
24:26 And you've got to steam him with the jab every time.
24:28 And that knee's up. Overhand left now.
24:30 Okay?
24:31 We've got to throw both hands.
24:35 You're getting on the inside, but then you don't throw shots.
24:38 You need to run him over.
24:42 And when you're here, you're not seeing it, but we're seeing that when you pressure, you're successful.
24:49 You've got to go run him over. Go work him.
24:53 So we're about to get a fight.
24:55 They just lit a fire. Let's go.
24:59 If he goes out there, if both guys go out there and do what they trained his dumbass to do,
25:03 it's going to get a little bit more interesting this round.
25:06 Round 7 of a scheduled 10-rounder.
25:08 All leads to our main event on ESPN.
25:11 Immediately following the UFC 300 undercards,
25:15 Jared Anderson against Riyad Murray.
25:17 10-round heavyweight attraction.
25:20 Cruz is getting a little bit over-anxious there.
25:31 Getting ahead of himself.
25:32 Good defense right there. Just footwork.
25:34 First line of defense.
25:36 We all know that.
25:38 But not everybody can do it.
25:40 I'm just saying. I'm sure you've done it.
25:43 I'm sure you've seen a dog sneak up on you and you run.
25:46 First line of defense.
25:49 Fight or flight. I'm out of there. Peace.
25:54 You can call me Delta.
26:00 Fia is a true fighter through and through.
26:03 I enjoy watching this young man.
26:06 Not only can he do a little bit of everything,
26:10 but you can just tell he likes to fight.
26:13 That's it. He loves this sport.
26:16 He lives it. I asked him in the fight room,
26:18 "Do you train year-round?"
26:21 He's like, "I'm in the gym every day, year-round.
26:24 I'm 10 pounds away from my weight every day."
26:27 I'm like, "Man, the way it should be."
26:30 Yes. That's fantastic.
26:33 You've got to love the sport to be able to do what he's doing.
26:38 Now, the one issue and two,
26:41 seven knockouts and 21 victories.
26:44 But that's the reason why he has to be in the position in here fighting.
26:48 The way he's fighting. One, to be entertaining.
26:50 See, that's what I had to do.
26:52 Yes, that's why it has to be.
26:53 I can box. I can step back and look pretty from the outside
26:58 and dance around my opponent. I come from that background.
27:01 However, in order to be appealing,
27:05 I had to change my style up and become more aggressive and take more risks.
27:09 Plus, I couldn't punch either.
27:11 I was a decent puncher. Decent.
27:14 Something you don't see, I can hurt you.
27:16 Oh, there's a nice short right hook there from Ruben Villa
27:19 that sends Cruz reeling back, but then he lifts him up.
27:22 Cruz comes back with this.
27:25 Because you've got two warriors in the ring right now.
27:28 Yes.
27:29 With courage, Cruz comes from a championship family.
27:34 He's fought against Lovato LaCandon Cruz.
27:36 Nice left.
27:37 You see now a straight right as well from Villa.
27:41 See, and the thing about Villa is he can operate inside the fire.
27:45 Yes.
27:46 You know, most guys, when they start feeling the heat, they want to get on out.
27:48 He doesn't want to get out. He wants to stay in the fire.
27:51 He has that capability of doing it.
27:53 And the only way you can do that is he's got to be drilled in you in training.
27:58 You know who always steps into the fire?
28:01 Who?
28:02 Robson José Sá.
28:04 That man gave us a memorable fight against Emmanuel Navarrete in November of 2023.
28:11 Yes, he was down in round four and again in round seven.
28:16 But what we remember is that courageous round 12
28:20 despite going down twice, the Brazilian fighter gave Navarrete all he can handle in that 12th round
28:28 to the point where not only did he earn the sombrero of Navarrete, but he earned a draw.
28:34 That smile will never disappear.
28:36 And he says, "Look, my motivation continues to be the same."
28:39 After losing to Valdez, very controversial, losing to Shakur who didn't make weight,
28:45 drawing against Navarrete in my three title fights, my dream is still the same.
28:50 To fulfill the promise I made to my daughter that I will be a world champion.
28:55 See, those promises, or the promises he brought into light,
28:58 but those promises is what we say to our kids at home.
29:01 And that's why it's important for one, the judging to be on point.
29:06 Because if we lose a fight because of poor judging, then that affects the fighter at the end of the day.
29:13 What an effort by Kansei Sao last time out, man.
29:17 And just because of that, right, alone, I don't think he realizes that that's where everybody's going to remember him from.
29:24 They're going to remember him because of that performance right there.
29:27 I mean, because I'm not going to lie, after watching him fight, the man almost had me crying, man.
29:31 He had me in tears.
29:33 Really, man, because that heart, that determination that he displayed,
29:36 I have not seen that in a very long time in a fighter.
29:40 And he told us, remember, I changed my nickname to El Bravo.
29:44 And that means that now I like to stand and punch more.
29:48 I threw 900 punches against Navarrete.
29:50 I'm not a boxer and mover anymore like when I was an Olympian fighting Oscar Valdez in my first World title fight.
29:56 Ah, yep. So you can tell he learned.
29:59 Absolutely.
30:00 He said, against Shakur, alright, even if he was heavy, it was just next level stuff.
30:05 And another thing, you have to understand that your job as a fighter is to entertain.
30:15 Yes, it is to win. At the end of the day, it is to win.
30:18 But it is also to entertain.
30:20 And if you do your job and entertain, you will be brought back.
30:26 It's not necessarily, oh, I suffered a loss.
30:28 No, you entertain, you give me your best effort, guess what?
30:32 You will be brought back.
30:34 We're seeing Ruben Villa and Christian Cruz giving it all,
30:37 entertaining us with back and forth boxing, fighting in there,
30:42 showing courage, showing technique, showing heart.
30:46 Yep. Absolutely.
30:48 Eight rounds, that flew by, Tim.
30:50 Sometimes you sit here and three minutes seem eternal.
30:53 That's not the case in this fight.
30:55 [crowd cheering]
31:06 Nice body work there from Ruben Villa.
31:09 You know when the minutes seem longer inside a fight?
31:15 Because when you're facing a guy that puts a massive amount of punches or pressure on you,
31:22 or a guy like Matias or at 140, or a guy like Cruz, Isak Cruz at 140 pounds now,
31:32 three minutes feel like an eternity.
31:34 Because you're not resting.
31:35 No, not one second, mentally or physically.
31:38 Or physically inside that ring.
31:40 Good angles right there on the inside right there.
31:42 That was a nice shuffle.
31:47 Nice backfist shuffle.
31:48 Nice straight left from Villa.
31:52 Landing a left uppercut now.
31:55 This is going to be a war of attrition here in the final two rounds.
32:00 Oh.
32:03 But there's no step back from Christian Cruz.
32:06 He's in this fight.
32:07 Game.
32:08 He's game.
32:09 Let's listen in to his corner.
32:14 Give him some water.
32:19 When you push him back, you do it better.
32:21 When you hurt him, it's evident.
32:23 We have two rounds left.
32:27 If we don't drop him and dominate him, you're not going to win this fight.
32:32 They're gone.
32:36 When he comes back, I want you to land a kamikaze left and then an uppercut with a right.
32:43 But you are slow throwing the right.
32:50 You good?
32:51 Yeah, I'm good.
32:52 Okay.
32:53 Can you push him for the next two rounds?
32:54 Okay, let's go.
32:55 Let's go make a statement.
33:00 They both know the importance of the next two rounds, Tim.
33:03 It was, can you push him for the next two rounds from Sam?
33:07 And on the other side for Cruz, like, if you don't drop him here, those rounds are gone.
33:12 Absolutely.
33:15 That's honesty.
33:17 Honesty is definitely needed inside the corner.
33:29 You see Cruz coming out and throwing, but good defense from Ruben Villa.
33:34 Now trying to walk him into something as he walks backwards.
33:38 The trainers got to be able to motivate their charge.
33:42 You got to be able to keep them alive inside the fight.
33:44 Be honest with them.
33:45 Let them know that, hey, this is what we need.
33:47 I need you to do this as well.
33:50 Nice counter right from Villa.
33:58 Chopping the back of the ear.
34:03 Let him go, let him go, let him go.
34:05 He's going to trip out with Ruben Villa and Cruz from Salinas, California.
34:10 Got a big following up there in central California.
34:13 Oh, Jarrett's here.
34:15 There's Azul.
34:17 The entire crew with the Hellcats.
34:20 New PJ, Brennis Brewer joining his long-time trainer, Daryl Riley.
34:30 The squad's out there for a photo shoot.
34:35 He like his vehicles.
34:37 Hey, I was the same way.
34:39 Love my vehicles, champ.
34:41 See, when I was younger.
34:44 Nice left hook from Ruben Villa.
34:46 I'm liking what I'm seeing in the center of the ring as well.
34:52 Dressed as mechanics.
34:54 Are they all mechanics?
34:55 I think so.
34:56 Yeah, I think they're race car club or something, right?
35:01 Yeah, that's what it is.
35:08 Mechanics.
35:19 That's our main event tonight.
35:21 Jarrett Anderson puts his undefeated 16 to no record.
35:24 He's got a 14-knockout streak on the line against Riyad Murray,
35:28 the former Cruiserweight champion.
35:32 Man, Cruz is a sitting duck.
35:34 About time he gets off those ropes.
35:36 He's a sitting duck on those ropes.
35:38 Look at him squaring up.
35:40 I mean, you can have a field day with your opponent when he's squared up
35:42 against the ropes.
35:44 He's obviously giving you both hands.
35:46 You can work both hands.
35:51 But when you're in your stance and you angle your body a bit,
35:54 you make it difficult for him to be able to land his offense.
35:56 He's going to have to set up his offense when you're in a good position.
36:01 Nice body work there from Christian Cruz, but it's at the clock.
36:05 Just letting him go.
36:08 Looking for the bell.
36:12 Tim, you've got a lab that you've prepared for Jarrett Anderson
36:16 and what he's got to do to win.
36:17 Look, I'm going to let you know right now,
36:19 what he's got to do to win the fight.
36:21 But I'm going to just tell you this.
36:22 Is he getting better?
36:24 Absolutely he's getting better, people.
36:26 I'm going to show you why.
36:28 Check out this movement.
36:29 These are small man moves he's putting on.
36:32 This takes a lot of energy, and you've got to be coordinated to be able to do this.
36:36 That's a front footstep shuffle right there to get a new angle right there for
36:40 himself to be able to drill that body shot right here.
36:43 Now, this is the custom model.
36:44 Custom model turning over in his grave right here.
36:46 Teddy Atlas is.
36:48 He's also looking at this, and he sees it.
36:50 Yep, that right there is a custom model shift,
36:53 shifting that weight onto his front foot, getting the advantageous position to what?
36:57 Boom, to land that shot right there.
36:59 And again, another Lomachenko favorite right here.
37:03 Front footstep shuffle, getting himself on the outside again.
37:06 And the only time, pay attention to this, the only time you can do moves like this
37:10 is when you have somewhat of a stationary target right there.
37:13 He's pinning the guard right here, clearing that side to be able to land a body shot right there.
37:17 You've got to do these type of moves, one, when your opponent is standing directly in front of you,
37:22 and also when they're against a rope.
37:23 They have to be stationary.
37:24 Two of the youngest, brightest talents in boxing today, undefeated Keyshawn Davis
37:30 as well as undefeated Jared Anderson, two of top ranks, brightest stars in the making right now.
37:37 And I want to give a big shout-out to my man Ryan, Boxing Gyms.
37:41 If you haven't followed him, follow my man on YouTube, Boxing Gyms.
37:44 Phenomenal, phenomenal boxing mind, brilliant mind.
37:48 He helped me put that together right there.
37:51 Boxing Gyms, G-E-M-S.
37:58 This is the final round between Ruben Villa and Christian Cruz
38:03 as Jared Anderson checks in along with his team for tonight's main event against Riyad Murray.
38:11 We'll move over from ESPN Plus to ESPN.
38:14 Hope you'll join us.
38:15 And Cruz is going to leave it all out here in the last two minutes of this final round.
38:24 Both guys, hard skill on display.
38:27 You know, they're trying to give themselves the best chance of winning this fight.
38:32 Nice double jab from Ruben Villa to stop Cruz in his tracks.
38:37 And a lot of times, most of the times, it's not proving yourself,
38:41 it's proving these dang judges that's around the ring.
38:45 You never know what the heck they looking at.
38:48 Nice straight jab once again from Ruben Villa.
38:57 Break. I got you. Gracias, gracias.
38:59 And it seems to me that Villa has Cruz out of his element.
39:03 Cruz likes to come forward. He likes to march forward.
39:06 And any time Villa, you see him press forward, it kind of befuddles Cruz a bit.
39:13 Cruz don't like to be pushed back or bullied. He likes to be the bully.
39:17 And it's all been behind that jab, Tim.
39:19 Every time that Cruz tries to gain some momentum, there's a jab to just meet him right there and say, "Where you going?"
39:25 Yeah, and his head popped up, and I'm just waiting on him to get tooken off.
39:28 Yeah, he hasn't yet.
39:37 Nice body work from Villa once again.
39:41 It's a very solid performance from the fighter out of Salinas, California.
39:44 Both. Both.
39:45 Against a very game fighter with championship pedigree in Cristian Cruz.
39:50 Oh, nice left hook from Villa. Trying to open up here in the last 20 plus seconds of this fight.
40:00 Did you see the nice little shuffle, getting himself outside?
40:03 That was nice stuff right there from Villa.
40:07 Good defense.
40:18 Let the fighters take it to the bell.
40:20 As John Shirley, the third man in the ring, says, "Gracias."
40:23 Thank you to both of these fighters for this fight.
40:27 Rupert Villa comes over to dab up the Cruz corner.
40:33 It was a good fight. It was evenly matched, right?
40:38 I mean, there was a little more separation in skill coming from Villa, of course, the pedigree.
40:43 However, Cruz, he put up a dang good fight, I thought.
40:46 He was landing shots every now and then when he was pressing forward.
40:50 He was being an aggressor and he was throwing his combinations and something was eventually landing.
40:55 Villa, to me, the jab was the key. The jab was the key to this victory tonight.
40:59 If he didn't have that jab, Cruz would have been all up in his grill.
41:02 But he tamed him with that jab and he was able to set up big shots like that over the top.
41:06 And he did that for quite a bit throughout the course of this fight tonight.
41:10 The inside fight was fantastic as well by both men.
41:13 I thought it was a decent performance by Villa. I'm not going to say it was his best performance.
41:17 It was decent. He did have a game guy in front of him, Cruz.
41:21 However, man, look, you got to separate yourself, man.
41:26 You want a shot? You want to be that number one contender?
41:29 You got to separate yourself with your performances, man.
41:32 You got to show how great you really are.
41:34 Tonight, I thought he showed it in spots. However, it wasn't his best performance.
41:41 Christian Cruz made the second ranked fighter in the world.
41:45 Boxing counts at 126 pounds. Worked for it tonight.
41:49 Will he pull off the upset? I doubt it.
41:53 But Ruben Villa looking for his 22nd professional win.
41:57 Mark Chinook with the decision.
41:59 Ladies and gentlemen, after 10 rounds here inside the American Bank Center,
42:04 we go to the judges' scorecards for the official decision.
42:10 David Sutherland and Lucy Rogers both have it 98-92.
42:15 Nathan Katsu scores the bout 97-93.
42:19 All in favor of your winner by unanimous decision,
42:23 and now the WBC silver featherweight champion,
42:28 Ruben "Drac" Villa!
42:33 So Ruben Villa improves to 22-1.
42:38 It's got to be a satisfactory victory for him.
42:41 You know, with the dub, it's probably all that he really wanted tonight.
42:44 I know they were trying to make a statement tonight,
42:46 but Cruz is a tough out, I believe, for anybody.
42:49 And, you know, again, he's in that position now to fight for a world championship.
42:56 Ray Vargas is on that list.