Cruz scores another knockdown here in round 4. pic.twitter.com/uE5zWtnlpc
— PBC (@premierboxing) June 28, 2017
Cruz dominated Alex Martin for 10 rounds in the main event of the latest Premier Boxing Champion’s PBC on FS1 “Toe-To-Toe Tuesdays” event, dropping him multiple times en route to a comfortable unanimous decision win. Cruz squeaked by Martin when they first collided in January via split decision but he made sure the fight was not as close on the scorecards the second time around.
Cruz (16-0, 11 KOs) took his foe off his feet in the opening round and then did the same thing in the fourth. Martin (13-2, 5 KOs) was buzzed by the shots but he wasn’t in serious peril of being stopped. The Chicago native kept plugging away to get back into the fight and won several rounds, but Cruz was the better man and the two knockdowns were the key. All three ringside judges favored the Floridian via tallies of 96-92.
In the co-feature, welterweight Clarence Booth took Anthony Mercado out in the fourth. Booth (15-3, 8 KOs) was in control and felled his rival in the fateful round and then finished him off with a volley of punches. Mercado fell to 10-3 with 9 KOs.
Featherweights Avery Sparrow and Isaelin Florian electrified the crowd inside Sands Bethlehem Events Center as they waged a wild six-round war. Florian (6-1, 3 KOs) was dropped in the first and second rounds while Sparrow hit the deck in the first and fourth. Overall, though, Sparrow (7-1, 3 KOs) landed the harder punches throughout and was awarded a unanimous nod with scores of 58-54 across the board.