Gervonta Davis Ended Leo Santa Cruz Fight With Thunderous Left

In the first significant fight post Covid-19 shutdown to have fans in the U.S. in attendance, Gervonta “Tank: Davis certainly delivered, and remained unbeaten with a devastating one punch KO of four division World Champ, Leo Santa Cruz.

The brutal end came from one, wicked left uppercut in the sixth round from Davis, which dropped Santa Cruz flat on his back and he laid motionless for some time,

That uppercut.@Gervontaa scores a round 6 knockout over @leosantacruz2. #DavisSantaCruz pic.twitter.com/ACkG813oAu

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) November 1, 2020

There had been anticipation on the bout having a bunch of big punches in flurries. And, the two fighters  did not disappoint/were trading from the outset, including this lengthy exchange of big blows in the fourth round of the contest,

???#DavisSantaCruz pic.twitter.com/YL2napXcs6

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) November 1, 2020

Davis, Now 24-0 with 23 knockouts, continued to press the action and score, particularly with left and right hooks on the inside.

To his credit, the 32 year old Santa Cruz, who had moved up two weight divisions over the course of the last year, was more than happy to engage Davis by standing toe-to-toe and firing back with him for much of the fight. That strategy was not unexpected and there were even a couple of occasions when he seemed to stop Davis in his tracks if not shake him up.

Davis, who remained the WBA “regular” champ at 130 lb. and added the 135 lb. “regular” title, said after the fight about the challenge that Santa Cruz gave him,

“He touched me with shots early that I wasn’t supposed to get touched with. I started settling down and listening to my coach and Floyd. There’s a lot of pressure early in the fight. Floyd was just telling me to stay calm. I always want to go out and get at them, but Floyd always says, I’m a 12-round fighter.”

Compubox stats had Davis landing an impressive 80 of 146 of his power shots at the time of the sixth round stoppage to 76 of 259 for Santa Cruz, who is now 37-2-1 for his career. But, in the end, only one power punch mattered.

On the knockout punch Davis added,

“We worked on the uppercut, but it was really me adapting to the timing of the fight. He was blocking the uppercut at first. So I started switching it up and throwing hooks when he thought the uppercut was coming.

“This is an amazing feeling. This is just the start. I have to thank everyone who helped me get to this point. 

It was the first time Santa Cruz had been knocked out in his career.

However, in the end on this night and in front of an announced crowd of just over 9,000 socially distanced in San Antonio’s Alamodome, Davis delivered with a show-stopping moment that will be talked about for some time to come.