Telemundo Quick Pick

Orlando Cruz vs. Gabino Cota: This Friday on Telemundo will be a 10-round main event in the junior lightweight division.  The fight will feature Orlando Cruz (21-4-1, 11 KO) taking on Gabino Cota (18-4-1, 16 KO).  In 2012 Cruz made headlines by becoming the first openly gay man in boxing, now he is looking for another shot at the title.  Neither fighter has looked great as of late with Cruz going 3-2 and Cota going 2-3 in their past five fights, however both have losses to quality fighter.  Cruz lost to Orlando Salido and Gamalier Rodriguez while Cota lost to Leonila Miranda, Andrey Klimov, and Jonathan Oquendo.  Cruz is a southpaw who likes to throw a lot of one-two combinations.  While his jab isn't great the straight left hand is a good weapon for him.  However, his defense isn't great and he has been stopped three times in his four career losses.  Across the ring will be Cota, an orthodox fighter with a 3-inch height advantage.  Cota has heavy hands and does some good work on the inside, especially with uppercuts.  The problem for him is movement and defense.  He isn't great when it comes to footwork and he usually ends up taking a lot of clean punches upstairs.  Cota definitely likes to fight from the pocket where Cruz likes to sharp-shoot from the outside and clinch in close.  Whoever controls the distance in this fight should end up winning.  That fighter will be Cruz who will use his movement to box to a split decision victory.