Easter Jr vs Cruz

Who won Easter Jr vs Cruz?

Robert Easter Jr beat Luis Cruz by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest on Friday 10th February 2017 at Huntington Center in Toledo.

The scorecards were announced as 115-111, 111-115, 110-116 in favor of winner Robert Easter Jr.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Lightweight division, which meant the weight limit was 135 pounds (9.6 stone or 61.2 KG).

This contest was for the vacant IBF lightweight championship of the world.

Easter Jr vs Cruz stats

Back in February 2017, Robert Easter Jr stepped into the ring with an undefeated record of 18 wins, zero loses and 0  draws, 14 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

Luis Cruz made his way to the ring with a record of 22 wins, 4 loses and 1 draw, with 16 of those wins by knock out.

The stats suggested Easter Jr had a slight advantage in power over Cruz, with a 78% knock out percentage over Cruz's 73%.

Robert Easter Jr was the younger man by 5 years, at 26 years old.

Easter Jr had a height advantage of 2 inches over Cruz. That also extended to a 4-inch reach advantage.

Both Robert Easter Jr & Luis Cruz fought out of an orthodox stance.

Easter Jr was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 9 less fights, and made his debut in 2012, 5 year and 8 months later than Cruz, whose first professional fight was in 2007. He had fought 6 less professional rounds, 152 to Cruz's 158.

Luis Cruz was ranked number 15 by the IBF in the 135lb division.

Easter Jr vs Cruz form

Easter Jr had won 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 4 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Richard Commey on 9th September 2016 by split decision in their IBF World Lightweight championship fight at Santander Arena, Reading, United States.

Previous to that, he had won against Argenis Mendez on 1st April 2016 by technical knockout in the 5th round at DC Armory, Washington.

Going into that contest, he had beat Juan Ramon Solis on 3rd October 2015 by technical knockout in the 3rd round at U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati.

Before that, he had defeated Osumanu Akaba on 28th August 2015 by technical knockout in the 6th round at Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington.

He had won against Miguel Angel Mendoza on 20th June 2015 by knockout in the 2nd round at MGM Grand, Las Vegas.

Activity check

Easter Jr's last 5 fights had come over a period of 1 year, 7 months and 21 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 4 months. In those fights, he fought a total of 28 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 5.6 rounds on average.

What time did Easter Jr vs Cruz start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 11:00 PM EST / 8:00 PM PST at Huntington Center, Toledo, United States, which was around 4:00 AM GMT in the UK.

What were the odds on Easter Jr vs Cruz?

Robert Easter Jr was a 3/100 (-3300) favourite going into the contest, while Luis Cruz made his way into the ring at 10/1 (+1000) with oddsmakers.