The fighters are all weighed in, and Davis vs. Santa Cruz is set to be in the main event of Showtime Boxing’s PPV on Halloween.
Both fighters made weight, yes, even Davis who has a history of being over the contracted weight limit.
This is another big fight for Leo Santa Cruz (37-1-1, 19 KOs), who has been in big-time matches before as he has faced Abner Mares (twice) and Carl Frampton (twice). Davis has been spectacular in his young career, but he has yet to get a prime fighter on his resume.
In his last fight, Gervonta Davis (23-0, 22 KOs) took on a very long in the tooth, Yuriorkis Gamboa. He did knock Gamboa down several times and won via 12th round stoppage. It was one of the more uninspiring knockout victories you’ll see.
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?️ Saturday 10.31
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If Davis can win, convincingly, he’s going to be listed with the other pound-for-pound fighters. He has to be.
Leo Santa Cruz is a top-rated, two-division world champion who is still in his prime at 32-years-old. He is smart, knows his opponents, and throws an insane amount of punches. In his bout against Rafael Rivera in February of 2019, he threw 1,273 punches, which comes out to 106 per round, or 35 per minute.
Boxing is looking for its next great fighter to rule the pound-for-pound rankings and pile up world titles, and while I don’t think Davis is the guy (even if he wins) if he crushes Santa Cruz, he makes a strong case to be included.
How Davis can win
Davis needs to use his size to his advantage. No, he’s not taller than Santa Cruz (Davis is 5’5 1/2″, Santa Cruz 5’7 1/2″), but he is the thicker, physically stronger of the two and needs to use it.
He needs to get inside of Santa Cruz’s inevitable barrage of punches and attack San Cruz’s body and as soon as his hands drop, unleash his incredible power upon him.
If Davis can clock Santa Cruz early on in the fight it could set the tone and lead to a middle round stoppage.
How Santa Cruz can win
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Leo Santa Cruz has been around the block. However, he’s never been in the ring with someone as compact and powerful as Gervonta Davis.
His path to winning the fight first starts with keeping Davis off of him early. He’ll need to jab the snot out of him to keep the distance.
In the middle rounds, Santa Cruz needs to really start letting his stamina show and let his hands fly, but still, keep the distance. Davis is far too powerful and dangerous to walk up on.
If Santa Cruz can consistently and aggressively land his jab early in the fight, he could frustrate and ultimately dishearten Davis, who has only gone the distance once in his career, and that was a 6-round fight in 2014.
Prediction
I don’t particularly like to pick a guy that so routinely finds himself not making weight, except for this fight when he did make weight and looks to be in the best shape of his life.
Davis via KO7.
The action starts at 9pm October 31 on Showtime PPV.
If you have any thoughts on Davis vs. Santa Cruz (or well, for anything really I’m not picky) you can share them with me on Twitter @WilliamFKing. Looking for more boxing? Belly Up Sports Boxing
