Lamont Roach respects how much heart Isaac Cruz has shown throughout his career.

Nonetheless, Roach believes Cruz’s courage will work against him Saturday in defending his WBC interim super lightweight title. Because Cruz (28-3-1, 18 KOs) presses forward with little regard for what’s thrown back at him, Roach (25-1-2, 10 KOs) is confident he’ll catch him with impactful punches that will help him win convincingly.

“The advantage that I might have is the fact that he’s a little too tough,” Roach told The Ring. “He’s gonna take a lotta chances, run into a lotta shots, a lotta things that I think will be dangerous for him. I have a very watchful eye. I have pretty good defense. I damn sure have good timing. It all just trickles down to those shots. In between [his punches] or those shots after a big miss, those are the things that we’re gonna capitalize on.”

Despite defensive flaws that sometimes leave him vulnerable, Cruz’s granite chin has prevented him from getting knocked out in 31 fights.

The Mexico City native took Gervonta Davis’ vaunted power without incident in their lightweight title fight four years ago. Rolando “Rolly” Romero and Jose Valenzuela couldn’t hurt Cruz, either, in subsequent junior welterweight championship matches.

Roach realizes why he isn’t considered a puncher. The Upper Marlboro, Maryland, native still expects his power to surprise even a fighter as durable as Cruz when they square off at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.

“A lotta people probably do underestimate it,” Roach said about his own power. “And I don’t blame ‘em. It’s not like I’m sitting here knocking these dudes dead. But I think it plays in my favor. Guys are willing to take more chances, and then they find out, ‘Oh, this guy got some pop.'"

Cruz can punch, but Roach’s chin has served him well throughout his 11-year, 28-fight career, too.

Davis didn’t hurt him in their infamous majority draw March 1 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Like Cruz, Roach hasn’t been knocked out. The Ring’s fourth-ranked junior lightweight has lost just a 12-round unanimous decision to Jamel Herring in November 2019.

Winning is first and foremost on Roach’s mind. He realizes, though, that becoming the first opponent to stop Cruz would make a much more impressive statement in his debut at 140 pounds.

“That’s a huge accomplishment,” Roach said. “That’s something that will stick with my career for a long time because he’s a tough cookie. And we’re doing our best to do what we can do to ultimately get the win. So, if the knockout comes or the stoppage comes, or if there’s an opportunity, I’m gonna take it for sure.”

DraftKings considers Roach, 30, a 2-1 favorite to conquer Cruz, 27, in their Premier Boxing Champions pay-per-view main event. They’ll headline a four-fight show distributed by Amazon’s Prime Video (8 p.m. ET; $74.99).