Lamont Roach Jr. of Washington DC (25-1-3, 10 KOs) could only shake his head in disgust as the scorecards were read after what seemed like an obvious victory over Isaac Cruz of Mexico City (28-3-3, 18 KOs) in San Antonio.
It was déjà vu all over again for Roach Jr., handed a second draw after being robbed of a victory in his last fight with Gervonta Davis. Scores were 115-111 Cruz, and two cards reading 113-113.
Roach Jr. could not hide his reaction, and he didn’t try. “All I want is a fair shake, man, that’s it. All I want is a fair shake. I think I pulled that fight out, a close victory. All I want is a fair shake. That’s it.
“There’s some bullshit, man, I don’t know what I got to do. We’re gonna go back to the drawing board. Boy, I don’t accept this at all. I clearly thought I wanted a close fight.”
Fight Highlights
Lamont Roach Jr. Fights Back After Knockdown
The outcome marred what was an exciting fight with a comeback plot twist.
Cruz came out fast as expected, forcing Roach Jr. back with his blazing offense and working the body of Roach. As Cruz had hoped and Roach Jr. promised, he stood and traded with Cruz. The pair settled into a fine offensive fight in the first few rounds.
Cruz scored a knockdown in the third round on a hard left hook, the first time Roach had been dropped as a pro. The punch sent Roach stumbling back, and a glove hit the canvas, properly ruled by referee James Green as an official KD.
It was an inside fight, and that is Cruz’s wheelhouse. It was a tactical mistake by Roach Jr., though it made for a fun fight.
But what separates a great fighter from a merely skilled one is the ability to adjust, and Roach Jr. turned the fight around in his favor by recognizing he was going down the wrong road. Roach Jr. began to box behind his jab and set up his power punches.
Cruz began to make it ugly, holding and bullying Roach Jr. Referee Green took a point from Cruz in round seven after he struck Roach Jr on the back, negating the knockdown.
Roach Jr. Makes The Adjustments
Cruz found himself fighting on the back foot in round eight as Roach firmly established the jab and began to surge back. The momentum shift was felt by the pro-Cruz crowd. Roach took them out of the fight, and his confidence grew. Now, Roach was imposing his game plan and boxing. At the end of the tenth, Roach waved at the crowd, urging them to cheer.
Roach’s footwork and movement frustrated Cruz, who could only potshot with single punches. It was a completely different fight in the second half from the first half. Roach’s father instructed him to box the last two rounds. Roach used his jab to keep Cruz back.
Cruz made a final stand at the end of the 11th round, tagging Roach. Instead of holding or backing away, Roach stood and traded with Cruz. Cruz’s father and trainer told him he must win the final round, and he did on all three judges’ scorecards to survive with a draw.
Cruz: “I Did My Job”
Cruz was nearly as frustrated as Roach Jr. “I did my job. I did my work. The referee was on his side, and obviously you saw that the judges too. I thought I won this fight, and the crowd here in San Antonio saw that I won this,” said Cruz.
“I knew that he was going to stand his ground and fight toe-to-toe. But guess what? I also boxed too, something that people didn’t realize I could do.”
Cruz said he would give Roach Jr. a rematch, but on one condition. “Yeah, absolutely. With a different referee, though, without the referee being on his side.” Cruz blamed referee James Green for the draw, citing the point deduction, which he attributed to Roach Jr. closing in on him.
“When you get in close, you’ve got to grab, but that wasn’t my fault. And then the point deduction, they shouldn’t have taken that point away, because I only hit him on the side. There was only one time they warned me … The referee took this fight from me.”
Roach Jr.: “I Gave The Fans A Good Fight”
Roach Jr. said the fight was his once he adjusted in the ring.
“Once I got in my groove, I knew what I had to do. I knew I had to bully the bully. That’s what I started to do. I started to push him back. Y’all seen me.
“He changed his game plan. He started moving. He had to do the things that he needed to do. But again, hats off to a tough Pitbull, a great champion in Pitbull himself. And I gave the fans what they were supposed to get, a good fight.”
Asked where he goes after his first fight at 140 pounds, Roach Jr. said, “Back to the drawing board.”
Lamont Roach Sr. Weighs In: “A Great Fight That We Won”
After the fight speaking to ProBox TV, father and trainer Lamont Roach Sr. offered his reaction and revelaed that his son fought the bout with an injury to his right hand.
“I thought it was a great fight, but a great fight that we won,” said Roach Sr.
“Lamont showed a dog in his willingness to go through what he went through in that ring and still deliver a spectacular performance. I’m proud of him.
“We didn’t get what we wanted. If you get a draw in Texas, you already know what it is.” Roach Sr. said the way his son boxed with one hand “was very impressive.”
Roach Jr. ends 2025 with two draws in the two biggest fights of his career. Roach Jr’s manager Robert Diaz said, “It’s very hard to face the opponent, but it’s very hard to face the opponent plus the man in the long pants. Two fights in a row.
“But look, the people seen it. He domes to fight he could have made this easy and boring for the fans. Lamont wants to give the fans a fight.” Diaz wasn’t opposed to the idea of a rematch.
Foster Makes Fulton Pay
The weight gain by Stephen Fulton did him no favors in his matchup with WBC Super Featherweight champion O’Shaquie Foster in what evolved into a lightweight fight for the interim WBC title. Foster of Houston (23-3, 12 KOs) schooled the former unified champion Fulton of Philadelphia (23-1, 8 KOs) in a master class co-main event. Score were 119-109, 118-110, and 117-111.
Foster used his long reach to pepper Fulton with little coming back. Fulton looked sluggish and slowed down by his size. Foster enjoyed the fight, smiling and relaxed. What was supposed to be a 50-50 challenge ended up being a cake walk for Fulton in a shutout.
By the 11th round, the punishment dished out to Fulton showed as his nose bled freely, likely broken as Foster made Fulton pay for his lack of respect toward the fight and toward him as an opponent.
At the final bell, Foster’s trainer Bobby Benton said, “Easy work.” Hard to believe when this fight was so highly anticipated. Fulton landed just 56 punches of 438 thrown in 12 rounds (13%), against 191 of 500 thrown by Foster (32%). Foster landed 101 of 249 power punches (41%).
Fulton has no one to blame but himself for this outcome. His devastating loss to Naoya Inoue may have left him too mentally broken to compete at the championship level. He looked terrible and needs to have a serious rethink about his future.
Lara Wins Dull Fight With Gonzalez
It looked like it would be an early night for WBA Middleweight World Champion Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara when he caught late replacement challenger Johan Gonzalez of Venezuela with a straight left hand two minutes into the first round for a knockdown. Scores were 118-108, 119-107, and 120-106. What does that tell you?
Sadly, it wasn’t the case. Lara of Cuba (32-3-3, 19 KOs) was content to cruise through the rest of the fight, easily evading Gonzalez and landing just enough to win rounds to defeat Gonzalez of Venezuela (36-5, 32 KOs). The San Antonio fans let their displeasure be known with a constant chorus of catcalls.
In the final seconds, Lara stepped on the gas after landing a solid left, following with three more for a second knockdown. It wasn’t enough to rescue a truly awful fight.
Somewhere, Janibek Alimkhanuly must have been watching and wondering what might have been.
Ramos Jr. Outworks Mosley Jr.
Jesus “Mono” Ramos Jr. of Casa Grande, Arizona (24-1, 19 KOs) had more firepower and more gas in the tank, carrying him to a unanimous decision win in a fun action fight over Shane Mosley Jr. of Las Vegas (22-5, 12 KOs). Scores were 117-111, 117-111, and 116-112.
Mosley Jr. came out strong, whipping left hands to the head of Ramos Jr. He didn’t look like he’d been out of the ring 17 months.
Ramos Jr. got into his groove in the middle rounds, heating up and countering back. Mosley Jr. stood his ground, helped by a chin nearly as good as his father’s. But once the starch was taken out of Mosley Jr., the pace caught up with him.
Ramos landed nearly half of his power punches, and in the 11th round, it seemed he might stop Mosley. Just as Mosley Jr. looked cooked, he bit down on the gumshield and rallied, making it to the final bell.
Ramos now holds the interim WBC middleweight title and becomes the mandatory challenger for full champion Carlos Adames.
Frank Martin Lands KO of the Year Candidate
In the early action, Frank “The Ghost” Martin announced his arrival in the super lightweight division in style, knocking out former two-division champion Rances Barthelemy cold in the fourth round with a southpaw left to the chin.
.@TheGhost_2016 FINISHES IT! A 📸 perfect KO in his first fight in the super lightweight division! #MartinBarthelemy
📺 Order now: https://t.co/m4NghCxI6w pic.twitter.com/dEBbXbmdpy
— Premier Boxing Champions (@premierboxing) December 7, 2025
Barthemely crashed to the canvas with no need for a count. It’s a late entrant in the 2025 Knockout of the Year running.
Martin said moving up to super lightweight was the right move. “I felt a lot better than my prior two fights … It took me a little time to warm up and get comfortable, but I started to settle down a little bit.”
Martin said he was forgotten after his single loss to Gervonta Davis. “All that did was brought more dog out of me. I’m saying I’m here, I’m back, and I’m gonna cause hell to the whole division,” declared Martin, who said he’d like to fight current IBF champion Richardson Hitchens.