By Allan Fox: Superstar Canelo Alvarez sent a message of support to Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz to motivate him to defeat WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis this Sunday, December 5th, in their fight on SHOWTIME pay-per-view at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The start time for the card is at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Cruz has talent, power, youth, but he’s lacking in experience and size, and he’s facing unquestionably the best fighter in the lightweight division in the eyes of many boxing fans in Tank.
The 23-year-old ‘Pitbull’ Cruz (22-1-1, 15 KOs) is a significant underdog despite coming into the fight on the back of a long 11-fight winning streak.
Cruz has been brought in as a substitute for Gervonta (25-0, 24 KOs) after his scheduled initially opponent Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero (14-0, 12 KOs) was removed from the card after allegations surfaced.
Tank looking unstoppable
Right now, Tank looks like an unstoppable machine with the way he’s running over his opposition one after another since 2014, having knocked out his last 16 opponents.
On Sunday, Tank will be looking to pick up his 17th consecutive stoppage, and it’s looking like he’ll accomplish that unless Canelo’s pep talk for Cruz can raise his game to the next level.
“What’s up, Isaac? Be strong! Be strong and keep working,” said Canelo Alvarez on Twitter in giving words of encouragement to Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz ahead of his title fight against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis on Sunday, December 5th.
“Give it all you’ve got to become a star,” said Canelo to Pitbull Cruz. “All you have to do is train even harder and put even more of yourself into it,” said Canelo.
It’s excellent that Canelo is giving ‘Pitbull’ Cruz support, but this isn’t a situation where he’s being matched against a carefully picked paper champion or an old guy over the hill, as we’ve seen with Alvarez with his career.
Pitbull Cruz is arguably facing one of the best fighters in the 135-lb division, and it’s going to be next to impossible for him to pull off the upset.
‘Pitbull’ Cruz has looked impressive lately, beating former champion Francisco ‘El Bandito’ Vargas, Diego Magdaleno, and Jose Matias Romero. Cruz has won his 11 fights dating back to 2017.
However, he’s not faced anyone with the kind of talent of Tank Davis during the last four years, and he’s going to be in way over his head on Sunday when he gets inside the ring with the Mexican star.
Gervonta, 27, will be dropping down from 140 from his previous fight against WBA secondary light welterweight champion Mario Barrios last summer on June 26th.
Gervonta coming down in weight
Tank may have smelled the coffee and recognized that he didn’t belong in the 140-lb division. He struggled badly against the little-known secondary WBA belt-holder Barrios and needed a pep talk from his promoter Floyd Mayweather Jr. after the seventh round when things were looking bleak for him.
Rather than staying at 140 to face the king of the division in Josh Taylor, Gervonta is coming back down to the safety of the 1355-lb weight class to meet ‘Pitbull’ Cruz.
Davis vs. Cruiz undercard:
- Sebastian Fundora vs. Sergio Garcia
- Sergiy Derevyanchenko vs. Carlos Adames
- Eduardo Ramirez vs. Miguel Marriaga
It’s a bit risky for Mayweather Promotions to be putting Tank Davis vs. Pitbull Cruz on Showtime PPV, as this isn’t considered a pay-per-view worthy match-up in the eyes of many fans.
Even before Cruiz was brought in as a replacement opponent for Tank Davis, it was a massive reach for Gervonta to be facing Rolly Romero on pay-per-view.
Rolly isn’t a household name with casual boxing fans, but he could make up for his lack of popularity due to his trash-talking ability.
In contrast, Pitbull Cruz is even less known than Rolly, and he doesn’t possess his ability to get boxing fans excited about the fight with his trash-talking ability.
The only thing Cruz has going for him is his cool nickname and a win over a shot to pieces 36-year-old ‘El Bandito’ Fernando Vargas in his previous fight.