Mashaba vs Cruz
Fight Results From Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut
On Friday, March 7, Cristobal Cruz scored a majority decision upset over Thomas Mashaba at Foxwoods Resort and Casino's last boxing card.
According to PunchTrack, Cristobal Cruz, 36-11-1 (23) threw a record 1,580 punches over twelve rounds to narrowly defeat IBO Featherweight Champion, Thomas Mushaba, 20-2-4 (12) by majority decision. One judge scored the bout 114-114, while the other two had scores of 115-113 for Cruz. Suite 101 scored the fight for Mashaba, 117-111.
Apparently taking a lesson from the Vazquez vs. Marquez masterpiece from a week earlier, Cruz, 30, charged of of his corner throwing punches from the opening bell. Though not gifted with great technique, Cruz let his flying fists make up for any defensive weaknesses he has; at least Mashaba couldn't exploit them.
Mashaba, 30, tried valiantly to match Cruz's pace, and short of that, catch the wild-swinging Mexican coming in with hard counter shots, which he did with some success, though not enough to convince the judges.
Not bothering with a jab, Mashaba contented himself with catching Cruz with uppercuts to the head and body, shots that might have knocked Cruz out if Mashaba had more power, and Cruz was less determined. Saying before the fight that he dreams of having a fight like Vazquez vs. Marquez 3, Cruz did his best to create its likeness at Foxwoods' last boxing show.
By the end of the fight, Cruz was bleeding badly from his mouth while Mashaba's eyes were bruised and swollen.
The victory will likely move Cruz into most boxing organization's list of top ten contenders, though such a close fight isn't likely to hurt Mashaba's standing much.
On the undercard, hometown favorite, Jason Lehoullier was fortunate to walk away with a ten round draw in a fight that Jose Gonzalez won on every scorecard but that of two of the judges. One judge had a score of 97-95 for Gonzalez, but was overruled by scores of 96-94 for Lehoullier, and 94-94.
Lehoullier, 21-1-5 (8), did well in rounds one and two with smart boxing and accurate counter shots, but from round three on Gonzalez , 11-2-1, took advantage of Lehoullier's tendencey to lunge in without jabbing by catching the 30-year-old with stiff uppercuts. Each successive round virtually mirrored its previous as Gonzalez, 26, racked up 1045 punches on the night.
Although Lehoullier was the hometown favorite, the knowledable Foxwoods fans resoundly booed the judges decision (indecision?) when it was announced.
Foxwoods Resort and Casino, located on the Mashantucket Indian reservation has been host to ESPN Friday Night Fights for many years and is to be replaced by a new MGM Hotel and Casino with a 4,000 seat entertainment venue.
