Cruz Explains Boxing’s Influence on His Style

Dominick Cruz (Pictured), on “Beatdown,” discussing how boxing has influenced his style:

“I steal a lot of my standup stuff and angles and movement just from high-level professional boxers, but the difference is people in MMA weren’t using it. So I just wanted to really, really implement it at a whole other level than anybody else in MMA was doing. Really I’m just stealing stuff from guys like Muhammad Ali, Emanuel Augustus. Certain angles I take actually are from Mike Tyson. A lot of the head movement and defense is Mayweather. I just want to steal things from the best fighters in the world. I’m not saying that I’m like those guys, but what I’m saying is, is I’m trying to steal and cop from their styles because that’s what’s made them as awesome as they are.”