 Between October 2005 and May 2007 Cruz's career looked to be coming to an end when he had seven fights with four losses and a no contest including two losses to Francisco Lorenzo.In August 2007, Cruz started back on the comeback trail when he defeated Alberto Garza with a tenth-round knockout to capture the WBC FECOMBOX featherweight title.This victory lead to a shot at the IBO featherweight title against South African champion Thomas Mashaba who had only one loss in a ten-year 25 fight career.