Santa Cruz: I’ll knockout Tank Davis if he gets tired

By Boxing News - 07/23/2020 - Comments

By Jim Maltzman: Leo Santa Cruz warns that Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis had better come into their fight on October 24 in shape because if he gets tired, he’s going to knock him out. Davis has never been down before, however, and he hs an excellent chin.

Tank Davis (23-0, 22 KOs) ran out of gas in his fights against Yuriorkis Gamboa and Francisco Fonseca, and he struggled at times in both matches before scoring knockouts.

Santa Cruz (37-1-1, 19 KOs) will take advantage of Tank Davis’ poor conditioning if he’s not adequately prepared for their clash. Tank, 25, and Santa Cruz will be headlining on Showtime pay-per-view on October 24 at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.

The Santa Cruz-Davis fight was announced on Wednesday, and already boxing fans are energized about the matchup. While some fans believe Santa Cruz will wear Tank down with his pressure style of fighting, most people are predicting a knockout victory for Davis.

Santa Cruz’s best chance of winning the fight is if Davis is lethargic from losing a lot of weight to get down to the 130-lb weigh-in limit for the match. The management for Leo was able to get Tank to agree to come down in weight from 135 to 130, and that could play in Santa Cruz’s favor.

Image: Santa Cruz: I'll knockout Tank Davis if he gets tired

Santa Cruz warns he’ll “SHOCK the world”

“It’s official. I got my card from my boss. ‘You’re going to fight,” said Santa Cruz to Fighthype. “I want to fight no matter where it is. Just get ready. I’m going to be prepared. It’s going to be a great fight.

“He’s a great fighter, and this is my chance to shock the world. That’s what I want to do. That’s what I’m going to try to do, go out and shock the world. Yes, it’s going to be a pay-per-view fight. It’s my first pay-per-view.

“I’m excited, happy, and hopefully, the fans tune in and watch the match. Thank God it’s going to happen. We’re going to get ready, and we’re going to go out there and do our best,” said Santa Cruz.

A win for Santa Cruz, notably a knockout victory over Gervonta, would indeed be a shock to the world. Santa Cruz isn’t a big puncher, especially at 130, and he would need to take many rounds of furious punishment from Tank for him to have a shot at scoring a knockout in this fight.

The stars will need to be entirely in line for Santa Cruz to do the impossible by beating the Mayweather-promoted Davis by a KO. Santa Cruz is going to need to start early with the pressure if he wants to knockout Tank because if he fights him at a slower pace, it’ll allow him to retain his power.

Yuriorkis Gamboa was unable to take the fight to Tank because of an ankle injury he sustained in the second round, which led to him taking a methodical beating.

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Tank Davis will get KO’d if he’s not well-prepared

“It’s going to be a great fight, and Leo Santa Cruz is going to shock the world and come out with a win,” said Santa Cruz on his contest against Tank Davis. “I think it can go the full distance.

“If Tank comes in well prepared with complete conditioning, it could go 12 rounds. If he doesn’t come well-prepared and gets tired, I think with my pressure, he might get tired, and I’ll knock him out.

“They were sparring,” said Santa Cruz on Ivan Redkach, sparring with Tank Davis. “And they [Tank Davis] said they were going to do six rounds, but they did four. They did a recording, and Ivan was mad, but things happen,” said Santa Cruz.

It’s not imaginable that Tank won’t prepare hard for this fight, as he’s got to drop five extra pounds to get down to 130. He knows that. The early sparring that Tank did recently with Ivan Redkach indicates that he’s already working on getting in shape.

Leo has got to do something different for this fight from what he’s been doing because sticking with his typical style will cause him to take too much punishment. As has been made clear, frequently, throughout Leo’s 14-year career, he gets hit a lot.

Against Davis, it would be better for Santa Cruz to stay on the outside and limit what he can do. Going straight into the teeth of Tank’s offense could end badly for Leo. That’s why he should go back to the style that he used to beat Abner Mares in their first fight in 2015.  It worked well for Santa Cruz in that fight, and he’s used in other contests since to great success.

Leo predicts Charlo will outbox Derevyanchenko

“[Jermall] Charlo against the one that fought GGG [Sergiy Derevyanchenko], it’s going to be a good fight,” said Santa Cruz.

“The other guy [Derevyanchenko] is going to try and put pressure, but Charlo knows how to box him and use the distance. So it’s going to be good. Yeah, he’s [Charlo] going to box him and use range.

Image: Santa Cruz: I'll knockout Tank Davis if he gets tired

“He’s not going to let the other guy overwhelm him with pressure because he always puts pressure and is on top of you. But Charlo is going to come well-conditioned and use the distance. It’s going to be a good fight,” said Santa Cruz.

It’s going to be difficult, if not impossible, for WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo to keep Sergiy Derevyanchenko from getting inside on him. Derevyanchenko is an excellent body puncher, who is highly skilled. He’s not called ‘The Technician’ for nothing.

It could prove futile for Jermall to try and keep Sergiy at the end of his jab the entire fight, seeing that it would require him to agree to that. If Derevyanchenko is getting chewed up on the outside, he’s going to force the fight to the inside where he can land his punches.

Charlo will need to work on his inside game because that could be where the battle is fought, which means he won’t be able to use his long reach. Derevyanchenko is a compact middleweight at 5’9″, and he’s used to having to work his way in close to land his shots. Facing taller opponents isn’t new to him.