Cruz, a decorated amateur, boasts a record of 17 victories against just one defeat with three draws. Eleven of his opponents have not been around to hear the final bell.

But Salas, 20-2-2 (15 KOs) and known as “The Magic Man”, is on the cusp of a big fight. In his last contest, he took out Roiman Villa in three rounds on the Canelo Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga undercard in Las Vegas.

There is also a junior welterweight bout between Connecticut contender Mykquan Williams, 22-0-2 (11 KOs), and 30-7-1 (21 KOs) Mexican Antonio Moran.

Williams is No. 6 with the WBO and working his way up the ladder toward a fight with champion Teofimo Lopez, but he is also No. 11 with the WBA. Williams had three solid wins in 2024, including a stoppage victory over then 17-0 Luis Feliciano on ProBox TV last January. Moran has been in deep, but will have learned from losses to Arnold Barboza, Jamaine Ortiz, and Andy Cruz.

Orlando-based southpaw junior lightweight Geo Lopez, 17-0 (10 KOs), bagged three wins in 2024, and he is up against experienced Nicaraguan Rene Alvarado, who has gone the distance with the likes of William Zepeda and Lamont Roach. Alvarado is 34-15 (22 KOs).

At light-heavyweight, there is an eight-rounder between Cleveland’s 10-0-1 (8 KOs) Dante Benjamin and Texas-based Mexican Rodolfo Gomez Jnr, who is 14-8-3 (10 KOs).

An injury to welterweight contender Nicklaus Flaz means his fight with Gabriel Maestre is now off the show.