LIGHTWEIGHT CONTENDER gervonta davis will face isaac cruz SUNDAY NIGHT on pay-per-view.
Gervonta Davis (25-0, 24 KOs) vs. Isaac Cruz (22-1-1, 15 KOs)
- Date: Sunday, Nov. 5
- Time: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
- Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles
- TV/Stream: Showtime Pay-Per-View
- Division: Lightweight
- At stake: No major titles
- Pound-for-pound ranking: Davis No. 14
- Odds: Davis 10-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
- Also on the card: Sebastian Fundora vs. Sergio Garcia, junior middleweights; Sergiy Derevyanchenko vs. Carlos Adames, middleweights; Eduardo Ramirez vs. Miguel Marriaga, featherweights
- Prediction: Davis KO 6
- Background: Davis was supposed to have fought Rolando Romero but Romero was removed from the card almost a month ago after he was accused of sexual assault. Cruz, the Mexican slugger, agreed to replace Romero. Davis, a huge puncher and fast-rising star, has knocked out his last 14 opponents in three different weight classes. That includes an 11th-round stoppage of Mario Barrios in what had been a competitive fight at 140 pounds this past June. The matchup with Cruz is Davis’s first lightweight bout since he knocked out Yuriorkis Gamboa in 12 rounds in December 2019 even though it seems to be his natural weight. He holds the WBA’s secondary 135-pound title. Cruz, an aggressive fighter from Mexico, made a splash by taking out veteran Diego Magdeleno in the first round in October of last year. He was less dominating in subsequent fights against Jose Matias Romero and Francisco Vargas, which he won by unanimous decisions. The matchup should be entertaining as both men like to mix it up.