Highlights
–After a busy opening round, Luis Cruz gained the early advantage in the second when he followed his jab with a straight round hand that dropped Ivan Redkach.
–Cruz adopted a countering posture through the middle rounds, using Redkach’s aggression against him by doubling and tripling up on his jab, and landing some well-timed left hooks.
–Redkach rallied in the late rounds to tighten the scoring, dropping Cruz with a winding left hand in the final seconds of the eighth, and flooring him yet again with a clubbing right in the ninth.
The fight seemed to be slipping away from Ivan Redkach as it got into the late rounds, but one big left hand helped him regain a grip on things.
After being dropped by Luis Cruz in the second round, Redkach gained knockdowns of his own in the eighth and ninth and rallied to salvage a 10-round split draw.
Redkach trailed on all three judges’ scorecards entering the eighth, but the Ukrainian southpaw caught Cruz late in the round with a winding left hand that landed flush on the Puerto Rican’s nose and sent him crashing to the canvas.
Redkach followed that up in the ninth with a clubbing left hand that appeared to cup Cruz’s head and force him down with just seconds left in the round, but referee Gary Rosato ruled it a knockdown.
It was Cruz who gained the upper hand early in the fight, scoring a knockdown in the second round as he followed his jab with a straight right hand that caught Redkach and sent him backpedaling to the canvas.
Cruz countered effectively through the middle rounds as he maintained his edge, using Redkach’s aggression against him by doubling and tripling up on his jab, and landed some well-timed left hooks.
Cruz, who had lost four of his previous seven fights, appeared to be in control of the bout until Redkach shifted momentum in his favor with his two late knockdowns.
Redkach went on to take the final round on all three judges’ cards, resulting in the stalemate with scores of 94-93, 93-94 and 94-94.
The fight ended in stalemate, with scores of 94-93, 93-94 and 94-94. (Leo Wilson / Premier Boxing Champions)
