Boxing

David Benavidez vs David Morrell Undercard Results: Isaac Cruz, Angel Fierro Steal The Show

Isaac Cruz and Angel Fierro delivered a Fight of the Year contender on the David Benavidez vs. David Morrell undercard.

Nathaniel Marrero

Isaac Cruz and Angel Fierro at the pre-fight weigh-in on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025.
Isaac Cruz and Angel Fierro at the pre-fight weigh-in on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. / IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

On paper, the undercard for David Benavidez vs. David Morrell has high expectations heading into Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

For the most part, it lived up to the billing, though Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz vs. Angel Fierro easily stole the show and delivered an early contender for fight of the year. Both fighters combined to throw 1,410 punches and land 486 as they exchanged punches throughout their 10-round war. Cruz won the hotly contested bout by unanimous decision.

Jesus Ramos was dominant against former junior middleweight champion Jeison Rosario en route to an eighth-round stoppage victory. Stephen Fulton looked like the fighter who was talked about as one of the ascending pound-for-pound fighters, defeating Figueroa for a second time by decision.

Here's how each of the three undercard bouts played out.

Stephen Fulton def. Brando Figueroa by unanimous decision

Fulton and Figueroa were handed the impossible task of following Cruz vs. Figueroa and trying to live up to lofty expectations after their first bout was a fight-of-the-year contender in 2021.

Still, Fulton (23-1, 8 KOs) was in vintage form en route to his second win over Figueroa. Fulton defeated Figueroa via unanimous decision (116-112 x2 and 117-111) to win the WBC featherweight title.

With the win, Fulton is now a two-division champion.

Fulton's defense and ability to pick Figueroa off on the inside helped carry the day for him. Even when Figueroa (25-2-1, 19 KOs) wasn't smothering himself on the inside, Fulton was landing cleaner shots and doing a much better job of avoiding big shots from Figueroa compared to their first bout.

Isaac Cruz def. Angel Fierro by unanimous decision

Fans penciled "Pitbull" Cruz vs. Fierro as a potential fight of the year contender.

The bout was everything fans could have hoped for and then some, but it was Cruz who emerged victorious with a unanimous decision (96-94, 97-93, 98-92) win. With the win, Cruz won the WBC Aztec Warrior Belt, which honors the late great former champion Israel Vazquez, who died of cancer on Dec. 3

It was a war from the opening bell. Cruz (27-3-1, 18 KOs) jumped out to an early lead after landing a barrage of power punches. Fierro (23-3-2, 18 KOs) fought his way back into the fight, which led to several hellacious exchanges throughout the fight.

Neither guy backed down and they ended the fight going back and forth until the final bell. Cruz landed 248 of his 624 punches, including 219 of 504 power punches. Fierro landed 238 of 786 punches, including 193 of his 564 power punches.

Jesus Ramos def. Jeison Rosario by 8th round TKO

It was one-way traffic throughout for Ramos en route to a stoppage of Rosario with 42 seconds left in the 8th round.

After battering Rosario for much of the fight, Ramos finally broke through late in the 7th round with a right hook and a straight left hand that dropped the former unified junior middleweight champion. Late in the 8th round, Ramos (22-1, 18 KOs) hurt Rosario again with a barrage of punches and referee Bob Hoyle stopped the fight.

Ramos landed 219 of his 490 total punches and 164 of his 303 power punches. He also punished Rosario to the body, landing 98 body shots. Rosario (24-5-2, 18 KOs) landed 59 of his 306 punches.

After the win, Ramos said he plans to move back down to junior middleweight. Ramos is ranked in the top 10 for each of the four major sanctioning bodies.

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Nathaniel Marrero
NATHANIEL MARRERO

Nathaniel Marrero is a writer for the Boxing, Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Ravens On SI sites. He's also written for the Orlando Sentinel and MLB.com, and was a part of UCF's sports show, Hitting The Field. He attended UCF and graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism in 2023. Twitter/X: Nate_Marrero