By Miguel Rivera

When opportunities come knocking at the door, they should not be missed.

That's the mentality of Luis Cruz, who will challenge Robert Easter Jr., lightweight world champion of the International Boxing Federation (IBF), on February 10. The fight will headline a Premier Boxing Champions card on Bounce TV.

"It's more than a tough fight, it's a major fight. I know I am against a champion who wants to add value," said Cruz (22-4-1, 16 KO's) to Carlos Gonzalez. "I've been in boxing for 18 years and this is the opportunity that I have been waiting for and dreaming about since I started. I am 31 years old and I am mature enough to take things with all of the seriousness that there should be.

Since suffering his first defeat in 2011, Cruz's boxing career has gone through it's ups and downs. His balance since then is 3-3-1. However, he chose to accept the challenge of facing Easter Jr. in Toledo, Ohio. For Cruz, the offer to challenge Easter Jr. was unexpected.

"Shortly before I was approached for the fight, I had told my wife that if there was nothing that interested me before the end of the year (2016) I would not fight any more. I told her that this is the opportunity I had hoped for and I want to take advantage of it," Cruz said.  "I'm enjoying what I do and I feel satisfied with the fact that I did my part. If in the end things do not go as expected, I will feel satisfied."

"I learned that you have to take the fights one by one. At the moment of the final result I do not know what I will do, but I do not have a goal or something planned that I think will happen in 2017 in boxing."

"My dream is to win the title, defend it once and possibly drop it. This sport is tough and risky. I enjoy being with the family so much and my four year old daughter has told me that she does not want to see me lose a fight. My wife is anxious to stop fighting particularly because of what happened to Prichard Colon."