Leonard Ellerbe Wasn’t Surprised Jose Valenzuela Beat Isaac Cruz

Leonard Ellerbe wasn’t surprised that Jose Valenzuela picked up an upset win over Isaac Cruz.

Valenzuela picked up an upset split decision win over Isaac Cruz back in August to win the WBA super lightweight title. It was a surprising result, but Ellerbe wasn’t shocked as he thought Cruz could get outboxed.

“He’s a good pressure fighter. Very entertaining. But he can be outboxed. He’s got a good chin, but he can definitely be out-boxed,” Ellerbe said to Fight Hub TV (h/t BoxingScene). “I didn’t really score, but he made it look easy. I fully expected Rolly to do that, but that didn’t happen. Great game plan. Just boxed the guy, turned him, made him miss and scored.”

Jose Valenzuela is 14-2 as a pro now and could get a big fight next time out. The Gervonta Davis bout is out there, but Leonard Ellerbe hints that could be the fight.

“Why not?” Ellerbe said. “He’s a good fighter.”

However, Ellerbe says whoever Davis fights next will be a big bout as he knows people love to watch Davis boxing.

“I’m very confident that when he’s ready to go, he’s going to let the boxing world know,” Ellerbe added. “Discussions are being had.”

Jose Valenzuela is 14-2 as a pro and on a two-fight winning streak. Before the upset win over Cruz, he beat Chris Colbert by KO in the rematch after dropping a decision to Colbert. Before the loss to Colbert, Valenzuela was knocked out by Edwin De Los Santos. The 25-year-old has notable wins over Francisco Vargas, Austin Dauly, and Deiner Berrio among others.

As for Gervonta Davis, he’s 30-0 as a pro and coming off a KO win over Frank Martin back in June. Before that, he scored a KO win over Ryan Garcia. He has notable wins over Rolly Romero, Isaac Cruz, and Mario Barrios among others.