Cruz will clash with Artur Subkhankulov for the vacant IBF lightweight strap in Ufa, Russia on an IBA.PRO show.

Subkhankulov, a 34-year-old Russian who’s ranked No. 2 with the IBF, will have the hometown advantage, but the southpaw will need to bring his A-game against Cruz, a 2020 Olympic gold medalist.

Subkhankulov (12-0, 6 KOs) is relatively unknown and earlier this year picked up a pair of stoppage wins over Virgel Vitor and Bakhodur Usmonov.

Cruz is a big step up in competition. In addition to the Cuban's talent, he now brings title-fight experience to the table.

On January 24 in Las Vegas, Cruz (7-1, 4 KOs) lost a razor-close majority decision to then-champion Raymond Muratalla. Cruz bounced back and stopped Abraham Montoya in three rounds on July 18. Muratalla defended his title in August against Robson Conceicao before vacating the belt to move up up in weight.

Cruz, who’s ranked No. 4 by The Ring and No. 3 with the IBF, also contemplated moving down to the junior lightweight division. That thought process was supported by his promoter Eddie Hearn, but those plans have now been shelved.