By Aragon Garcia: Leo Santa Cruz says he wants to take on Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and Gary Russell Jr. in 2020. Of the two, Santa Cruz (37-1-1, 19 KOs) wants to face the unbeaten Tank Davis (22-0, 21 KOs) first, due to the fact that he’s the “strongest” of those guys.
Whether those fights can be made will be determined on how well the negotiations go between Santa Cruz and those fighters. There’s nothing stopping the fights from being made. Tank Davis would be the harder fight to put together though, because he’s with Mayweather Promotions, and they’ve very careful with how they match him.
Santa Cruz, 31, beat Miguel Flores (24-3, 12 KOs) last Saturday night to win the vacant WBA Super World super featherweight title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fighting on the undercard of Deontay Wilder vs. Luis Ortiz 2, Santa Cruz pounded out a 12 round unanimous decision by the scores 115-112, 117-110, 117-110. Santa Cruz wasn’t happy with his performance against Flores, considering he wanted to do more but he couldn’t.
Leo Santa Cruz unhappy with performance
“I’m happy I got the title, and I’m a four division world champion, but I wasn’t happy with my performance,” said Santa Cruz to Fighthype after his win over Flores. “I didn’t feel strong. I still won, but I wasn’t happy. It wasn’t my day, and I didn’t feel like myself. I didn’t fight the way I wanted to fight, and I feel like I made a lot of mistakes. I didn’t do what I had to do.
“My dad was telling me to do something, and I couldn’t do it because of what I was feeling and stuff. But I’m glad I came out victorious, and came out healthy. I wish him the best, and I hope he does become world champion later on,” said Santa Cruz about Flores.
“He was really good, and I knew from the very beginning he was going to be a tough opponent. He came to fight,” said Santa Cruz.
It was a new division for Santa Cruz in moving up to 130, and it’s the 4 weight class that he’s fought in. He’s more of a volume puncher than a power puncher, that means he needs to be in the firing line to land his shots. Although Santa Cruz beat Flores by a wide score on two of the judges’ scorecards, he took a lot of shots from the 27-year-old.
The fight showed that things are going to be tougher for Santa Cruz at super featherweight than its been for him at 118, 122 and 126. Santa Cruz is fighting 12 pounds over the original weight class that he started at, and they hit harder where he’s at now. It doesn’t matter that Flores is arguably one of the weaker contenders at 130 in terms of talent, he still had some power.
Santa Cruz targeting Gervonta Davis & Gary Russell in 2020
“I want Gary Russell and Gervonta Davis,” said Santa Cruz. “Those are big names. People are telling me they want me to fight somebody elite, and I want to prove to them that I’m not scared of nobody, and I’m not afraid to fight them.
“I think Tank Davis is the stronger one, so why not go with him? It doesn’t matter. Whichever I come to an agreement with, I’ll fight them. Hopefully, we get that fight, and we’ll get a lot of big fights,” said Santa Cruz.
Former IBF/WBA super featherweight champion Tank Davis has a fight next month against Yuriorkis Gamboa (30-2, 18 KOs) on December 28 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Davis, 25, has got to win that fight for him and Santa Cruz to be a possibility.
Tank Davis should beat the 37-year-old Gamboa, but you never know. This is a weight class for him, and he’s facing the hardest, and the most talented fighters of his career in the Cuban Gamboa. We’re talking about a 2004 Olympic gold medalist and a former WBA featherweight champion in Gamboa. It’s not a sure thing that Davis beats him, but he probably will.
WBC featherweight champion Russell Jr. (30-1, 18 KOs) would likely be the easier fight for the 5”7 1/2″ Santa Cruz, being that he’s three inches shorter at 5′ 4½″ . On top of that, Russell Jr. has problems with fighters that stay on the outside, and use movement. Santa Cruz likely beats Russell Jr. if he uses the same game plan that he employed in his first fight with Abner Mares by staying on the outside.
Santa Cruz: Wilder beats Andy Ruiz Jr. and Anthony Joshua
“I watched it on TV,” said Santa Cruz about the Deontay Wilder vs. Luis Ortiz rematch in the main event on the card. “It was really close, but then Wilder knocked him out. His eyes were like [rolled back],” said Santa Cruz in talking about Ortiz after he was knocked out in the 7th. “He [Wilder] landed the perfect shot, and he couldn’t recover. I think Wilder would knockout Andy Ruiz. He’s too long.
“With him [Wilder] on the outside, he would land that right. I think Andy would give him a great fight, but I think Wilder’s power would be the difference. He’s too strong. Right now, I don’t think anybody [beats Wilder]. I can’t think of anybody right now. Anthony Joshua, I don’t think so. I think Wilder knocks him out,” said Santa Cruz.
WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder knocked Luis Ortiz out in the 7th round with a scorching right hand. It wasn’t a great effort by Wilder, by most accounts. He looked overmatched against Ortiz up until the moment he knocked him out with a right hand.
There’s a good chance Wilder faces the winner of next months’ rematch between Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr. Those two are battling it out on December 7 in Saudi Arabia, and the winner of the fight is a possibility for Wilder in 2020. Wilder wants Ruiz Jr. to win, but Joshua will have something to say about that.