Andy Cruz vs Omar Salcido Gamez Preview January 25th, 2025
2021 Olympic lightweight gold medalist Andy Cruz of Cuba fights for the fifth time as a pro when he takes on Omar Salcido Gamez of Mexico this Saturday, January 25th The 10-round tilt from Las Vegas, Nevada is for Cruz’s IBF International Lightweight Title and can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. Cruz last fought in August when he stopped Antonio Moran in the seventh round. Gamez last saw action in October when he halted Chris Colbert in the 10th round.
Cruz vs Salcido Gamez Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Omar Salcido Gamez +500
- Andy Cruz -900
My Pick
The 29-year-old Cruz reportedly went 140-9 as an amateur star with 10 Ko’s. He captured gold medals at the 2017 Pan American Championships; the 2015 and 2019 Pan American Games; the 2017, 2019 and 2021 World Championships and the Olympics. He’s been training under the tutelage of Derek Ennis and is based in Miami, Florida after inking a three-year deal with Matchroom Boxing. Cruz measures 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 68.5-inch reach. He possesses excellent speed, timing, ring IQ and jab but isn’t known to be the most powerful puncher out there.
Cruz steps into the ring with a mark of 4-0 with 2 Ko’s and has boxed 30 pro rounds as he beat veteran Juan Carlos Burgos by a 10-round unanimous decision in his pro debut in July, 2023 and captured the vacant IBF International Lightweight Title. He then stopped Jovanni Straffon in his first defence five months later and shutout Brayan Rodriguez over 10 rounds last February before stopping Moran his last fight. Cruz kicked off his pro career by working with Ennis and his son Jaron, the current interim IBF Welterweight champion.
Cruz beat Keyshawn Davis several times as an amateur, usually in gold-medal matches, and also beat Elvis Rodriguez several times. He also competed in the World Series of Boxing a few years ago. He’s now hoping to turn his amateur success into a pro world title but after taking on Burgos in his debut he has arguably taken backward steps in quality of opposition since then but at least Moran and Gamez have taken on a few recognizable opponents during their careers.
Gamez is just 25 years old and climbs through the ring ropes with a mark of 20-1 with 14 Ko’s and now fights out of Lakeside, California. He turned pro back in 2018 as a teenager and has 93 rounds of experience under his belt since. He measures 5-feet-7-inches tall with an unlisted reach so gives up two inches in height to Cruz. When it comes to power, Gamez is well above average as 70 per cent of his wins have come by way of stoppage. He’s gone the distance in his two of his past three outings after stopping his previous five opponents.
The lone defeat in Gamez’s career came at the hands of Jose Nunez in October, 2023 when he dropped a 10-round unanimous decision. Just 10 of his 21 opponents have entered the ring with a winning record. Gamez took a step up in class against Colbert in his last bout and pulled off an upset in a fine performance. This will be his fourth straight fight in America and fourth overall in the country. His biggest wins have been against the likes of Colbert, Luis Coria, Ulises Perez Torres, Jesus Acosta Ayala and Erick Encinia.
Prediction…
Gamez is durable with a pretty good chin and looked impressive in his last fight by stopping Chris Colbert. Cruz is in a different class though as he’s an elite boxer though with plenty of skill, speed and combination punching and also has decent power. Gamez should be able to hang in there for a few rounds at least and the fight could even go the distance. However he’s not on the same level as Cruz. If Cruz does manage to stop Gamez it’ll likely be due to an accumulation of punches rather than a one-shot KO.
Cruz is a class above Gamez.
Play Cruz -900 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Andy Cruz betting • Omar Salcido Gamez betting