Southpaw Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis (23-0, 22 KOs) is looking like he’s ready to step inside the ring right now to face WBA Super World super featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz (37-1-1, 19 KOs).
Davis thrashed another sparring partner in a recent workout caught on video by Alonzo Earle. If this sparring session is any indication of how Tank will performant on October 24, Santa Cruz won’t last long.
Tank Davis challenging Santa Cruz
Davis, 25, is moving down to 130 to challenge Santa Cruz for his WBA title on Showtime pay-per-view at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. Both Santa Cruz and Davis’ WBA 135-lb title will be available on the night. The winner will hold titles at 130 and 135 with the World Boxing Associaton.
What was interesting about Davis’ sparring session in the below video is the way that he took it easy initially, seemingly trying to work on his defense and not doing an outstanding job of it, unfortunately. However, when Tank Davis started attacking his sparring partner, it was brutal to watch.
Davis looked furious with the way he attacked his adversary, and the body shots he was landing sounded painful.
Towards the end of the short video, you could see that Davis’ sparring partner was in the full retreat mode, and looking defeated.
This is just sparring, though, and the guys that Davis is training with are not on the same level as Leo Santa Cruz. If they had Santa Cruz’s type of talent, they wouldn’t be sparring partners.
The one chance that Santa Cruz has in winning the fight is if Tank is weight drained from having come down from 135. If Tank isn’t as strong as he usually is, then Santa Cruz will capitalize on it by burying him with shots until he drops.
All the weaker sparring partners that Tank beats up might give him a big ego, causing him to overlook the threat that Santa Cruz presents to him. It would be a good idea for Mayweather Promotions to get some world-class contenders for Tank Davis to spar with because he’s going to get a false sense of invincibility ahead of the Santa Cruz fight.
If Tank goes out there on October 24, expecting it to be easy work against Santa Cruz, he could be in for a rude awakening.
Santa Cruz isn’t someone that’s going to fold up as soon a Davis starts slugging with him. Leo is going to stay in there and look to outbox Davis.