Junior welterweight Ronald Cruz, coming off the biggest win of his career, takes on Dillet Frederick in the scheduled eight-round semifinal Saturday evening, Feb. 26, in the Grand Ballroom of Bally’s Atlantic City. Gabriel Rosado and Jamaal Davis collide in the all-Philadelphia junior middleweight main event, set for 12 rounds.
Cruz, 24, of Bethlehem, PA, knocked out highly regarded Jeremy Bryan, of Paterson, NJ, in six rounds last Oct. 30 in the same ring. After falling behind in the first three rounds, Cruz took control in the fourth, dropped Bryan twice in the fifth and finished him off with another knockdown 59 seconds in the sixth round when the fight was stopped.
A pro for two years, Cruz has scored seven knockouts en route to a 10-0 record. He is managed by ex-pro lightweight Jimmy Deoria, of Phoenixville, PA. Cruz has become a regular at Bally’s, having beaten Julias Edmonds, Ashantie Hendrickson and Juan Ramon Cruz there.
Frederick, 28, of Fort Myers, FL, originally was set to fight Cruz last Sept. 25 at Bally’s, but a physical exam in the dressing room the night of the fight revealed Frederick had a sore right hand and the match was canceled. Because of that, Cruz went looking for a fight and grabbed the chance to fight Bryan 35 days later. A pro since 2001, Frederick is 7-3-1, 4 K0s. He, too, comes here off his best win, a third-round knockout over previously undefeated (12-0-2) Raymond Charles, of El Campo, TX, on July 16 in Tampa, FL.
Five additional bouts complete the card, which begins at 7.30 p.m. The show is being promoted by Peltz Boxing Promotions, Inc. Tickets priced at $50 and $75 are on sale at the offices of Peltz Boxing (215-765-0922) and all Ticketmaster outlets (800-345-7000). They also can be purchased online at www.Ticketmaster.com and at www.peltzboxing.com.
