Steve Cruz

Steve Cruz (born November 2, 1963) is a retired American professional boxer who became the WBA World Featherweight Champion on June 23, 1986.

His trainer for much of his career was Don Gorman.

Cruz who is of Mexican descent was born of modest means in a barrio on the south side of Fort Worth, Texas on November 2, 1963.

He graduated from Trimble Technical High School.

Fairly early in his career, Cruz was trained and managed by Don Gorman, who operated the influential Gorman Gym in Fort Worth.

An exceptional amateur, Cruz won the 1979 National Junior Olympic Gold Medal at 112 pounds and the 1981 National Golden Gloves title at 119 pounds.

He was also a three-time Fort Worth Golden Gloves champion and a two-time Star-Telegram Texas Golden Gloves champion.

He gained the nickname "Super Kid".

Cruz turned professional in 1981, and won his first nineteen fights between October 1981 and February 1984, fighting almost exclusively in Texas, with a few bouts in Las Vegas.

On October 22, 1982, Cruz defeated Nicky Perez at Fort Worth's Will Rogers Coliseum before 2,700 fans in a ten-round unanimous decision.

It was Cruz's first main event fight and his first full ten-rounder.

He commented that he mostly counterpunched and felt somewhat tired by the end of the tenth.

Perez would take the North American Boxing Federation (NABF) Super Featherweight title in his career.

On November 9, Cruz would defeat Perez again in a ten-round unanimous points decision in Las Vegas.

Cruz knocked Perez to the mat in the seventh and ninth rounds.

Cruz suffered one of his very few early career knockout losses to Lenny Valdez in Las Vegas in a first-round TKO, only 2:21 into the first round.

On December 3, 1985, Cruz defeated Tommy Cordova at the Showboat Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, in a ninth-round technical knockout.

Cordova was down twice in the eighth and once in the ninth.

Using hard rights, body shots, and an explosive left jab, Cruz sent Cordova to the mat three times in the bout and gave him a considerable beating.

Cordova was down twice in the eighth, first from a left, and then from a right to the body.

The bout was stopped by the referee, 2:32 into the ninth round, after Cordova had been down once, and then nearly fell again.

The bout was featured on ESPN in some markets.

Two months earlier, on September 25, 1985, Cordova had unexpectedly lost to Baby Joe Ruelaz, having had trouble making weight and needing to lose eight pounds quickly.

On February 7, 1986, Cruz defeated Jorge "Rocky" Garcia in Las Vegas in a ten-round mixed decision.

Garcia was a powerful puncher with a large percentage of wins by knockout.

Cruz won the World Boxing Association (WBA) and lineal featherweight title by defeating Barry McGuigan on June 23, 1986 at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, in a 15-round unanimous decision before 10,200 fans.

Cruz's win was something of an upset, as he was a replacement for the injured Fernando Sosa.

The bout was a grueling, fast-paced brawl in the sweltering 110-degree heat of the outdoor ring.

Another factor in the upset was that Cruz was rated only the ninth featherweight in the world by the WBA; McGuigan led the early betting 6 to 1.

McGuigan hit the canvas three times, twice in the final fifteenth round from a furious assault by Cruz.

After the bout, McGuigan was hospitalized overnight for a mild concussion, and was also affected by severe dehydration from the excessive heat in the arena.

The bout was proclaimed The Ring magazine's 1986 Fight of the Year.

On November 21, 1986, Cruz defeated Mexican boxer Roger Arevalo in a ten-round points decision at Fort Worth, Texas.

Arevalo would later take the Mexican Superfeatherweight title.

Cruz took around $20,000 for the bout, a modest sum for a world champion.

Cruz lost the Featherweight Championship in his first defense to Venezuelan Antonio Esparragoza, the number one-rated challenger, at the Will Rogers Coliseum in Fort Worth on March 6, 1987 in a twelfth-round technical knockout (TKO).

Esparragoza floored Cruz twice in the twelfth round.

Donald Curry, who would take the WBC Superwelterweight title in 1988, also trained at the Gorman Gymnasium.

Cruz received some training guidance for the bout with McGuigan from Don Gorman, who had him spar with one of his trainees, Troy Dorsey, future 1991 International Boxing Federation (IBF) World Featherweight Champion.

Dorsey's aggressive style was similar to McGuigan's, and may have aided Cruz in his upset win.