What to Know
- In a Mexico vs Puerto Rico matchup sure to please fight fans, Isaac Cruz and Nestor Bravo promise to put on a show on Saturday, Sept. 19 at San Diego’s Pechanga Arena.
- The full Premier Boxing Champions fight card also features a title defense by Jesus Ramos Jr. It airs on DAZN Boxing Fight Night starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
- While Bravo is the underdog, he promises to mount a serious challenge.
Nestor Bravo has waited a long time to get his opportunity to shine and prove what he’s capable of in boxing. The Puerto Rican contender Bravo (24-1, 17 KOs) was rising in the rankings when he suffered his first loss in a split decision to Xolisani Ndongeni in March 2025. He bounced back in January with a second-round knockout win over Pedro Campa.
Now he faces popular Mexican superstar Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (28-3-2, 18 KOs) for the Interim WBC Super Lightweight title on Saturday in the main event on DAZN from Pechanga Arena in San Diego. The winner will be the mandatory challenger for WBC 140-pound champ Dalton Smith.
While Cruz is the favorite and certainly the fan favorite in San Diego, Bravo does not plan to go home to Puerto Rico empty-handed. When we spoke with Bravo and his team this week, the 32-year-old made a solid case for himself and his ambitions.
Nestor Bravo Prepared For War – Or Whatever – From Isaac Cruz
“I’m ready to do whatever it takes so that we hear ‘And the new’ on Saturday night. This is the opportunity I’ve worked my whole career for,” Bravo told me.
“Whatever it’s going to take to make sure that Nestor Bravo is going to give it all, and you guys will hear ‘And the new’ in Jesus’ name. Everything, whatever, whatever it takes. I’m ready for it,” he insists – by any means necessary.
Bravo said he has been on the brink of title fights and even signed the contract paperwork, only to have those opportunities fall through. It makes Saturday’s fight all the more important to him.
“There’s opportunities that come once in a lifetime. I’ve been fighting for this opportunity for a while. I was number two in the rankings. I would say since 2023, 2024, and knocking on doors,” said Bravo, while being told he wasn’t a challenger the champions wanted to face. Despite his manager’s hustle, “Nobody was giving me the opportunity,” said Bravo.
But now Cruz has teed him up. Bravo will face Cruz in his first fight working with Trainer of the Year Eddy Reynoso out of his new Escuela de Boxeo (School of Boxing) gym in San Diego.
However, Reynoso won’t be in the corner on Saturday, as his current priority is preparing his number one client, Canelo Alvarez, for his October 16 fight against Christian Mbilli. No word on who will stand in for Reynoso on Saturday. It could be his chief second based in San Diego, Carlos Barragan Jr.
Bravo Gets A Little Help From A Friend
Cruz is coming off a majority draw with Lamont Roach Jr. in a fight many observers felt Roach Jr. won.
It’s a fortunate turn of events for Bravo, who shares a training camp with Roach Jr. Roach Jr. and Bravo have known each other since they were amateurs but never competed in the same division. While they have been ships passing in the night as Roach Jr. prepared for his recent fight with William Zepeda, Roach Jr. has offered Bravo his support where he can.
“I’ve been around him, and I saw him in camp. You know it’s always love with him and his family, his dad,” said Bravo, with Roach Jr. cheering him on. “It’s back and forth. Let’s go. You’re a great fighter. You’re a big fighter. You know, you’re huge. So, I mean, it’s amazing. I’m just grateful.”
Bravo also gained an advantage from being ringside in August 2024 when Cruz suffered his only loss in his first title defense at 140 pounds to Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela. Bravo says he gained valuable insight by watching Valenzuela’s victory – another taller, offense-minded fighter like him.
“I watched that fight live because back then it was for the WBA [super lightweight title] and we were ranked number two in the WBA, so it was something interesting to see. We were right there set to fight whoever was next,” said Bravo, who said Valenzuela followed the right game plan.
Bravo stands 5-foot-9, the same height as Valenzuela, and has a longer reach advantage over Cruz than Valenzuela does. Bravo has sharpened up his power jab to keep Cruz beyond his range so the champion can’t bully him inside. If Bravo can do that and land his solid left hook, the outcome could be different than expected.
But Bravo insists he will be ready to handle anything, including an all-out war, which is certainly Cruz’s preference. And he’ll be ready whether Cruz decides to box. But he is well aware Pitbull Cruz loves a fight. It’s in his blood, notes Bravo.
“I know if the corner tells him try to do something different, if he worked it, he’ll be able to do it. Then it’s my job to capitalize on that, and take advantage, and then just when he steps it up a little, we step up.”
Nestor Bravo Leans on Faith and Family
Bravo says he has been knocking on doors for far too long, while staying in the gym and staying focused for the day he gets his chance, like on Saturday.
We asked Bravo what helped him stay the course when things weren’t going his way. It was his family and his faith, including his father and trainer Jose Bravo.
“I’m a family man. I’m a God-loving man. I really don’t do anything besides family, church, and boxing. I’m not a guy that’s going out, that doesn’t party, that doesn’t drink, none of that. If you see me, I’m in the gym every day,” said Bravo, working with his father and trainer
Earlier this year, after his one-punch KO of Campa, he could have taken a break. After the Campa fight on Monday, I was in the gym,” laughed Bravo. His father and his team were all over him. “They were like, ‘What are you doing?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know what else to do. This is my habit. I love being here. You guys are my family, so that’s what I do,” recalls Bravo. Even his wife asked if he might consider a break.
“We take a break when we go to Heaven, and when we die. Other than that, I don’t know anything else besides boxing. This is what I love,” said Bravo, and it shows.
“It’s amazing for me to have this kind of opportunity. It’s a blessing, sincerely.” Bravo says despite the oddsmakers not giving him a chance, he pays it no mind. “It’s OK. Whoever wants to see what Nestor Bravo is all about, just come to the Pechanga Arena and sit in the front row and you’re going to see a great performance.”
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.
