Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz’s fight against his late substitute opponent, Omar Salcido, will be for the WBC interim light welterweight title in a 10-round bout on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Salcido was moved from the non-televised portion of Saturday’s card to fight on the main card against Cruz as the replacement opponent.

(Credit: Esther Lin/Premier Boxing Champions)

Unjustified Belt for Salcido-Cruz?

The WBC’s decision to sanction this fight for their interim 140-lb title is being criticized by fans, as it doesn’t make sense. Salcido (20-2, 14 KOs) is coming off a loss to Andy Cruz, fights at lightweight, and is moving up to light welterweight to replace Angel Fierro, who pulled out of ‘Pitbull’ Cruz’s fight due to a medical emergency.

Having the WBC interim 140-lb title for a fight against a replacement opponent is unjustified. Subriel Matias captured the WBC title from champion Alberto Puello last Saturday night, and he is defending it in November against the #1 challenger Dalton Smith. The WBC putting the interim on the line for the Cruz-Salcido fight just looks like a money-grab.

Diluting Belts: Cruz-Salcido Fallout

Having the WBC interim 140-lb title fought over by Cruz (27-3-1, 18 KOs) and Salcido confuses fans, as it dilutes the value of the belts. Pitbull is ranked #3 WBC, and Salcido is not at all. It sort of made sense to have the interim title at stake when Cruz was fighting #7 WBC Angel Fierro. But once he was forced to pull out due to his health emergency, the interim title should not have been available.

Obviously, Cruz and Salcido aren’t going to argue against having the WBC interim title available for their fight. Getting their hands on that belt could be extra money because they’ve got a belt that draws attention to the winner.

Earlier today, Cruz weighed in at 138.8 lbs, and Salcido came in at 139.4 pounds at Friday’s weigh-in.