By Dan Ambrose: Leo Santa Cruz says he wants a rematch with Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis to try and avenge his sixth-round knockout loss from two months ago on October 31st.
The former WBA super featherweight champion Santa Cruz (37-2-1, 19 KOs) was knocked cold by Tank after getting caught with a monstrous uppercut to the head.
Davis (24-0, 23 KOs) hasn’t said anything about wanting to give a rematch to the 32-year-old Santa Cruz, and it’s unlikely that the fight would sell on Showtime pay-per-view a second time.
Will the fans pay to see a Davis-Santa Cruz rematch?
That type of ending would make it all but impossible to sell a second fight between the 26-year-old Davis and Santa Cruz.
Tank’s promoters at Mayweather Promotions want to continue to put him in a pay-per-view bout, as they now see him as a PPV guy.
There’s little chance that the boxing public will way to pay $75 again to watch Davis and Santa Cruz in a money-grab, which there are too many of those going on right now.
If there was a rematch between them, some fans would be willing to sit and watch if it were on regular Showtime, but definitely not pay-per-view.
Mayweather Promotions wouldn’t be able to sell a second mismatch unless Santa Cruz rebuilt himself first with some solid wins over top-level opposition.
“The fight [Gervonta] was good, but I got caught. I don’t take anything away from ‘Tank’ Davis, but I think that if the fight would’ve gone 12 rounds, I think I could’ve won the fight. So, you know, I’m going to ask for the rematch,” said Santa Cruz to Fighthub.
“I’m going to ask for the rematch, and hopefully, they give it to me. And if not, we’re going to go look for another fight,” said Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz was trailing by a close on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage in the sixth round. The judges had it scored as follows:
- 48-47
- 48-47
- 48-47
Does Santa Cruz deserve a rematch?
When Santa Cruz lost to Carl Frampton by a close controversial 12 round decision in 2016, he was given an immediate rematch by the Irish fighter in 2017.
Santa Cruz won the rematch by a 12 round majority decision but then turned his back on Frampton when he asked for a trilogy match. The circumstances were a lot different for Santa Cruz in his defeat against Frampton, as it was a close fight that many boxing fans felt that Leo should have won.
But it was a different story in Santa Cruz’s brutal knockout loss to Davis. With that ending, the only way there would be a rematch is if Santa Cruz was a superstar like Canelo Alvarez.
If that were the situation, Tank would gladly give Santa Cruz a rematch because of all the money he could make, as the boxing public would be eager to see a second clash between them.
Unfortunately for Santa Cruz, he’s not a star, and it doesn’t look like he ever will be. He’s an aging volume puncher, who has had a great career, but he doesn’t belong at 130, as we saw in his loss to Tank Davis last October. Santa Cruz needs to move back down to 126 or 122 and dominate in those weight classes.