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Boxing
Gervonta Davis wins tougher than expected fight against Isaac Cruz; dismisses Kambosos, Haney, Garcia
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In front of a star-studded crowd of 15,850 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Davis got a much tougher than expected fight from Cruz but earned the victory by unanimous decision (116-112, 115-113, 115-113) to remain undefeated in 26 fights (26-0, 24 KOs). DAZN News scored the fight a draw, 114-114. Davis says he hurt his hand around the sixth round, which he felt prevented him from knocking out Cruz and extending his KO streak to 16. it was the first time Davis went to a decision since an October 2014 win against German Meraz.
“I hurt my hand, so I couldn’t get him out of there," Davis said in his post-fight interview with Showtime's Jim Gray.
The 23-year-old Cruz replaced Rolando Romero, who was pulled from the fight after being accused of sexual assault.
Cruz took Davis's hardest shots the entire fight despite the injury, didn't take a back seat, and never flinched. Instead, he continued to come forward, looking to inflict punishment on Davis. "Tank" landed the harder power shots but still couldn't put Cruz away in the early going.
The fight came down to the 12th and final round on two of the judge's scorecards. You could see that something was wrong with Davis' hand. Davis showed an excellent boxing IQ in snapping a stiff jab, an occasional right hand, and superb footwork. Cruz was reluctant in the early stages of the round, appearing confused with what Davis was doing. Finally realizing he needed to get going, Cruz started swinging wildly and missing more often than not. Cruz connected on a left hook with time winding down, but it was too little, too late in the judges' minds.
What is now next for Davis? He was criticized for his selection of Romero and then Cruz instead of taking on either Lopez, Haney, or Ryan Garcia. When asked about fighting Kambosos, Haney, Garcia by Grey, Davis side-stepped the question. Grey pressed again and Davis entirely dismissed both guys even though he's been facing lower caliber competition for most of his career.
"All those guys are easy work," Davis bluntly said. "I’m the top dog.”
Cruz took Davis's hardest shots the entire fight despite the injury, didn't take a back seat, and never flinched. Instead, he continued to come forward, looking to inflict punishment on Davis. "Tank" landed the harder power shots but still couldn't put Cruz away in the early going.
The fight came down to the 12th and final round on two of the judge's scorecards. You could see that something was wrong with Davis' hand. Davis showed an excellent boxing IQ in snapping a stiff jab, an occasional right hand, and superb footwork. Cruz was reluctant in the early stages of the round, appearing confused with what Davis was doing. Finally realizing he needed to get going, Cruz started swinging wildly and missing more often than not. Cruz connected on a left hook with time winding down, but it was too little, too late in the judges' minds.
What is now next for Davis? He was criticized for his selection of Romero and then Cruz instead of taking on either Lopez, Haney, or Ryan Garcia. When asked about fighting Kambosos, Haney, Garcia by Grey, Davis side-stepped the question. Grey pressed again and Davis entirely dismissed both guys even though he's been facing lower caliber competition for most of his career.
"All those guys are easy work," Davis bluntly said. "I’m the top dog.”
Here is what happened at Gervonta Davis vs. Isaac Cruz.
