Davis outlasts Cruz to retain WBA lightweight title

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Gervonta “Tank” Davis proved he is more than just a knockout artist as he displayed his full offensive arsenal in his unanimous decision win against Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz to successfully defend his WBA lightweight title for the third-straight time.

Going up against a shorter fighter for the first time in his career, Davis showed no sweat and adjusted quickly against the surging Cruz.

Cruz, the tagged “Mexican Tyson”, stalked Davis for 12 straight rounds but wasn’t able to catch and hurt the champion consistently.

The Mexican fighter had his moments especially in the very first round when he surprised Davis with a thudding right hand that connected to the jaw.

However, Davis quickly responded and fought the bout smart as he picked Cruz apart with his efficient punching.

Every time Cruz moved forward, the boxing champion from Baltimore used his fluid head movements to negate the offense and countered easily with a slipping right uppercut.

The striking clinic lasted until the 12^th round and was enough to reward Davis the edge in the scorecards to maintain his untainted professional boxing record.

When asked what it would be like to take fights from Ryan Garcia, Teofimo Lopez, and George Kambosos Jr., Tank said: “Easy work. I’m the top dog. Let them fall in line.”