At first I was missing them but eventually I caught up to him. "I don't just want to throw any type of shot. He is 140 and I wanted to catch him with clean shots," Davis said. Subscribe to Morning Kombat with Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell for the best analysis and in-depth news, including instant analysis of Tank Davis' thrilling knockout of Mario Barrios below. ![]() The reigning 130-pound WBA champion and secondary WBA titleholder at 135 pounds, Davis proved to be the bigger puncher despite giving up nearly six inches in height in his junior welterweight debut, just nine months after recording the knockout of the year in 2020 by finishing Leo Santa Cruz with an uppercut in Round 6 of their junior lightweight bout.Ĭan't get enough boxing and MMA? Get the latest in the world of combat sports from two of the best in the business. "I went up two weight classes and I got the job done." I definitely could have made it easier but it is what it is," Davis said. ![]() After Barrios made it back to his feet, a flurry from Davis along the ropes forced referee Thomas Taylor to jump in at 2:13 of the round. There was friendly chatter between both camps during the post-fight interview.ĭavis said he’d fight at whatever weight presents the best opportunity next, be it 135 or 140.Ĭruz, who had real support in Los Angeles, said, “They saw a star born today, and the fans are speaking on who won this fight.Gervonta "Tank" Davis called his move up two weight classes to 140 pounds for Saturday's pay-per-view in Atlanta a move that proved he was "daring to be great." Those who watched his performance would be hard-pressed to disagree.ĭavis (25-0, 24 KOs), a 26-year-old rising star, headlined his second consecutive PPV card and added a world title in a third weight class by stopping Mario Barrios (26-1, 17 KOs), the WBA regular champion at 140 pounds, in Round 11 of a thrilling and dramatic slugfest inside State Farm Arena.Īlthough Davis was leading on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage, Barrios was busier and largely fighting him on what appeared to be even terms throughout a series of competitive and exciting rounds to close the fight.ĭavis, a native of Baltimore, rallied in Round 11 after a hot start from Barrios to floor him for the third time in the fight with a left uppercut to the body. When asked if Cruz should get a rematch, Davis replied, “Hell, no!” with a smile. I think even though he didn’t get the win, a star was born here tonight,” Davis said of Cruz. He’s a shorter fighter so I was throwing down and hit him on top of the head.” “I hurt my left hand in probably the sixth round, but I got through. Still, Davis got the win, and it was a fair decision - and, to give credit to Carla Caiz, Max DeLuca, and Zachary Young, it was fairly scored by the judges. ![]() But he also never had Cruz in any danger, never seemed to truly hurt him, and maybe fell in love a bit too much with his counter uppercuts, hoping for a highlight reel KO like we saw against Leo Santa Cruz in 2020. ![]() He marched forward, didn’t show any fear of Davis, but did show respect, especially early, and did not fight recklessly with his pressure, which also enabled him to catch Davis in some lulls and land good shots throughout the fight.Īt times, when Davis opened up and flashed his speed, it looked like a mismatch. It would be tough to find a way to actually score the fight in favor of Cruz (22-2-1, 15 KO), but tougher still to not come away from it knowing that this is a legitimate contender in the 135 lb division, and not someone who should be taken lightly by anybody. It was a gritty win in the end, as Davis suffered a clear left hand injury that had an obvious affect on him late in the bout, and “Tank” was forced to fight the 12th round with just his right hand, jabbing and moving and, admirably, winning the round. Gervonta Davis lost his knockout streak, but kept his unbeaten record with a narrow and very competitive decision win over Isaac Cruz tonight in front of 15,850 fans in Los Angeles on Showtime pay-per-view.ĭavis (26-0, 24 KO) won the fight on scores of 115-113, 115-113, and 116-112, with Bad Left Hook also scoring the fight 115-113 in his favor.
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