WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis (25-0, 24 KOs) weighed in at 134.5 pounds on Saturday at the weigh-in for his title defense against substitute opponent Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz (22-1-1, 15 KOs) for their fight on Showtime PPV on Sunday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Cruz 23, also weighed in at 134.5 lbs.
During the face-off, Tank gave the challenger Cruz a half-hearted push that resulted in both teams jumping in to separate the two fighters. It was a move out of character for Davis, 27, but it wasn’t unexpected.
They needed to create some buzz about their fight on Sunday night because a lot of the focus this weekend has been on tonight’s fight between WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney and Joseph ‘Jojo’ Diaz Jr in their clash on DAZN.
Will fans purchase Tank vs. Cruz?
Whether today’s mini-altercation between Tank Davis and ‘Pitbull’ Cruz will be enough to interest fans to plunk down $70 to order their fight on Showtime PPV remains to be seen.
Undercard weights:
- Sebastian Fundora 153.25 vs. Sergio Garcia 153.5
- Sergiy Derevyanchenko 159.5 vs. Carlos Adames 159.5
- Eduardo Ramirez 129.5 vs. Miguel Marriaga 129.5
“It was easy to cut the weight as normal. I used to eat a lot of junk food in training camp, but now I’m eating more healthy,” said Gervonta Davis to Showtime Boxing when asked whether it was difficult making weight.
“It didn’t really change that much. We always train hard,” said Davis when asked whether his training changed when his originally scheduled opponent Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero was replaced by Isaac Cruz.
“I think so,” said Davis when asked if this is a fight that he’ll be able to show off his boxing skills. “He’s a come-forward fighter and I don’t want to just sit there and trade shots with him at the beginning of the rounds.
Gervonta wants to showcase his skills
“I think this is a fight that will show my tools and my footwork. That is a lesson to myself to keep me up on my game and keep me humble,” said Tank Davis when asked if he feels concerned about having a letdown against Isaac Cruz to avoid an upset loss like the one Teofimo Lopez experienced last Saturday night against George Kambosos Jr.
“I’ve been in the position where Isaac Cruz is in now with the odds against him and I feel better when the pressure is on me. I think that’ll keep me level-headed just to know where he’s coming from.
“I’ve been there before and that’ll keep me on my game as well. I think I perform better when I’m out there having fun. It’s also business but I try to do stuff that I normally do every day,” said Tank Davis.
“Yeah, we got a fight on our hands. This ain’t going to be a walk in the park for Tank,” said Kenny Porter to Fighthype in reacting to the push from Gervonta during weigh-in with Isaac Cruz.
“But his [Gervonta] preparation has been tremendous, and I was there for the last month to see it every day. His preparation has been second to none, and I’m sure he’s going to be successful in this fight.”
Canelo was born in Mexico and speaks Spanish and was trained by Mexican fighters but his genetics are from Ireland. He won’t fight the Americans from Mexico, Cuba and the USA because they are better than Europeans.