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Mike CoppingerESPN
Isaac Cruz and Yuriorkis Gamboa have agreed to a deal for a lightweight fight on April 16 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, sources told ESPN.
The bout will serve as chief support to the April 16 Showtime PPV headlined by the Errol Spence Jr.-Yordenis Ugas welterweight title unification, sources said. The 147-pound bout between Radzhab Butaev and Eimantas Stanionis also will appear on the undercard, leaving one more slot.
Cruz (22-2-1, 15 KOs) stunned the boxing world by pushing star fighter Gervonta Davis to the brink in a December decision loss. Cruz accepted the fight on a month’s notice after Rolando Romero withdrew from the bout, and Cruz established himself as a player in the stacked 135-pound division with the spirited effort.
Despite being a major underdog, the 23-year-old Mexican boxer lost by just two rounds on two cards and four on the third.
Now, Cruz will receive another night in the spotlight on the undercard of the anticipated Spence-Ugas fight at the home of the Dallas Cowboys. He meets Gamboa, a former two-division champion and Olympic gold medalist. At 40, Gamboa hasn’t shown much in recent bouts, but he has proved durable.
The Cuban boxer’s previous two fights came against Davis and Devin Haney. Gamboa (30-4, 18 KOs) tore his Achilles tendon in the defeat to Davis but made it to Round 12 before he was stopped. Eleven months later, Gamboa was shutout on two scorecards in a unanimous decision loss to Haney.