Gervonta Davis Delivers Sensational KO Over Leo Santa Cruz
Gervonta Davis silenced many critics with a career-defining victory and a potential knockout of the year contender.
In his first pay-per-view main event, Davis landed a vicious left uppercut on Leo Santa Cruz late in the sixth round and immediately knocked him out. The punch rocked San Antonio’s Alamodome, which had 9,024 in attendance, as viewers and attendants witness a star-making performance. With that win, Davis is now in possession of two titles; the WBA “World” lightweight title and the WBA “Super” super featherweight title.
Santa Cruz was more than ready for Davis’ power early, throwing a flurry of shots from the very beginning and forcing his opponent to exchange with him. Davis wasn’t able to land many punches clean and it was tough for him to break through Santa Cruz’s volume punching. It wasn’t until a few rounds into the fight where Davis was able to land better punches.
It was in the sixth round where Davis started connecting better punches and hurting Santa Cruz. Late in the sixth, Davis cornered Santa Cruz, but Santa Cruz kept attacking. Davis countered Santa Cruz’s straight rights and landed the finishing blow with a left uppercut.
What a perfect shot. pic.twitter.com/6v6EG2oXEW
— GG (@roheblius) November 1, 2020
The punch ended a long summer and fall for the 25-year-old Davis, who turns 26 soon. Davis had long been considered a future star by pundits, but lacked that major name on his resume who would help elevate him onto that next level.
Under the tutelage of mentor and promoter Floyd Mayweather Jr., the young, unbeaten champion had a different type of training camp preparing for the fight. Moving to Las Vegas, away from the distractions in his hometown of Baltimore, Davis spent roughly 15 weeks in camp preparing for his maiden voyage as a pay-per-view headliner.
Now a holder of two belts at super featherweight and lightweight, Davis’ future is now suddenly an open road. However, after the fight, Davis said he would like to hover between both weights and gauge what are the best available fights. At 135 pounds (lightweight), there is unified champion Teofimo Lopez, fresh off his own big win this month over Vasiliy Lomachenko, and WBC titleholder Devin Haney. At 130 pounds (super featherweight), the battle for top dog continues with the likes of Miguel Berchelt, Joseph Diaz Jr., Rene Alvarado and Jamel Herring all holding titles.
One of the concerns some people had about Davis heading into the fight was whether or not he would not only make 130 pounds, but also perform at the high level expected of him at that weight.
Needless to say, Davis answered that question with an emphatic knockout victory. After the fight, Davis told Fight Game Media that he actually feels stronger right now as a 130-pounder than when he previously held a super featherweight title from 2017 to 2019.
“I think that I feel stronger at 130. I feel like it’s my natural weight. It’s up to me to stay in shape and stay fit. I’m a full-time athlete, not part-time. I definitely feel good at 130. If there is an opportunity for me at 135, I’m a champion at 135, so we’ll make it happen at 135,” Davis said.
As far as Davis’ future in terms of headlining more pay-per-view events, Mayweather said he will talk it over with his team and Showtime to see what’s out there. He added that he wants Davis to enjoy the victory first before mapping out the future.
“I’ll talk it over with my team, communicate with Al [Haymon], communicate with Leonard [Ellerbe] and my PBC team, my Mayweather Promotions team. I’m going to talk with Showtime, with Stephen Espinoza and see what we can come up with. We don’t know what the future holds, but we do know that [Davis] is a future star,” Mayweather told Fight Game Media after the fight.
There’s no telling where Davis’ future lies as far as what weight he’ll compete next. What is certain is that Davis has delivered on the expectations many had set for him as Mayweather’s heir.
