‘Tank’ Davis unleashed an explosive left uppercut to Santa Cruz which had the whole boxing world talking. The 25-year-old American also held his WBA lightweight strap on the line during the fight and certainly got the rest of the division’s attention.
It was an astonishing 23rd knockout from 24 victories and the win kept his perfect 24-0 record intact. He also handed the well experienced 32-year-old Mexican Santa Cruz his first defeat via knockout.
Speaking to Fight Hub TV post-fight Gervonta expressed his thoughts.
He said; “The first couple of rounds I was a little cold and he hit me with shots I shouldn’t get hit by, but I then started to listen to my coach.”
“When I hit him and saw he was still on the ground after, my mood changed, and I was hoping that he was okay… I’m so anxious when I get in the ring that I just wanted to get at him, but I’m still learning.”
Gervonta walked down the former multiple weight division champ with nasty intent and proved all the doubters wrong with his excellent technique and dynamite punches.
In the push to get the sport back to some form of normality following the Coronavirus pandemic, the event allocated around 10,000 fans to attend in San Antonio’s Alomodome Arena. It was comforting to hear the roar from the crowd as Davis was crowned victorious.
The card also welcomed San Antonio born world champion Mario Barrios who retained his WBA super-lightweight title against Ryan Karl. Barrios won via technical knockout in the sixth round and proved to be too much for the American.
Davis came into the fight with the public having doubts on his ability to challenge serious competitors in the world scene. He showed some struggle in his previous bout against former world champion Yuriorkis Gamboa, however Davis overcame the tough fight to stop Gamboa in the 12th round and win his third world title via technical knockout.
With talks of Teofimo Lopez next on the list, the future fights for Tank is endless and exciting. Lopez, the recently crowned unified lightweight champ, is number one on everyone’s list for future fights after his spectacular victory over pound for pound kingpin Vasily Lomachenko.
However, what next for Santa Cruz? Is he to build his way back up or will he land himself a world title fight soon? Léo still has a lot to offer and when he is on form, he is a joy to watch with his fantastic work-rate. Only time will tell as boxing keeps on heating up.