By Dan Ambrose: Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis (24-0, 23 KOs) overcame a bad start to come back and knockout WBA super featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz (37-2-1, 19 KOs) in a sixth-round on Saturday night at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Texas.
Tank hit Santa Cruz with a low blow. Moments later when the action resumed, Tank tore into Santa, hurting him with some big shots.
When Santa Cruz came forward for some payback, Tank knocked him out cold with a textbook uppercut. Santa Cruz was very hurt from that shot was out before he hit the deck.
WBA light-welterweight champion Mario Barrios (26-0, 17 KOs) predictably destroyed his overmatched opponent Ryan Karl (18-3, 11 KOs) in a sixth-round knockout on Saturday night at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Karl came out slugging, but that eventually proved to be a mistake as he was dropped twice in the sixth and stopped by Barrios. There was no surprise here that Karl was knocked out, as he didn’t belong in the same ring with a talented fighter like Barrios.
Regis Prograis defeats Juan Heraldez
Fighting for the first time since his loss to Josh Taylor last year, former WBA light-welterweight champion Regis Prograis (25-1, 21 KOs) blew out Juan Heraldez (16-1-1, 10 KOs) in stopping him in the third round in a scheduled 10-round bout on Saturday night at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Prograis dropped Heraldez twice in the third round. The referee stepped in and halted the fight after the second knockdown in the round.
Issac Cruz vs. Diego Magdaleno
The talented lightweight Isaac Cruz (20-1-1, 15 KOs) obliterated Diego Magdaleno (32-4, 13 KOs) by a first-round knockout to pick up his eighth consecutive win in an IBF lightweight title eliminator. Cruz is now mandatory for IBF 135-lb champion Teofimo Lopez.
Magdaleno had been knocked out in the past by Teofimo Lopez, made the mistake of slugging with Cruz from the opening bell. That proved to be a mistake for Magdaleno, as he was knocked down hard.
After Magdaleno got back up, he was soon dropped for a second time. The fight had to be stopped at that point due to Magdaleno being too hurt to be allowed to continue.
The 34-year-old Magdaleno has had problems getting out of the early rounds in fights against Teofimo Lopez and Terry Flanagan. Magdaleno was topped in the second round by Flanagan in 2015, and he’s not a big puncher.
Later on tonight, Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis will be battling Leo Santa Cruz (37-1-1, 19 KOs) for his WBA super featherweight title in the main event.
Tank (23-0, 22 KOs) wants to be the second guy to defeat Santa Cruz. The belt that Santa Cruz holds is less important to Tank Davis than his name and his solid reputation.
Both the WBA 130 and 135-pound titles will be on the line tonight for the Davis v. Santa Cruz contest. If Santa Cruz wins, he’ll capture his fifth division world title, which will put him in the same company as these famous fighters:
- Oscar De La Hoya
- Thomas ‘Hit Man’ Hearns
- Sugar Ray Leonard
- Floyd Mayweather Jr
- Manny Pacquiao
It’s an important fight for Davis and Santa Cruz, and it’s going to be fun to see which of the two wins. Santa Cruz is the underdog, but Davis has drained himself to return to the 130-lb division, where he used to fight. Davis outgrew the super featherweight division, and he could be making a big mistake of trying to return to it.
The Davis-Santa Cruz card is being televised on Showtime PPV for $75, which is high for these times. We’ll know soon enough whether it was wise for the organizers to charge a high price.
