Leo Santa Cruz feels experience is key to victory over Gervonta Davis

WBA junior lightweight champion Leo Santa Cruz talks to FanSided about his upcoming  Halloween bout with Gervonta Davis. He feels like he can hand Davis a loss. 

Four-division world champion and current WBA junior lightweight titleholder Leo Santa Cruz is a little more than a week away before his Showtime pay-per-view bout against undefeated WBA lightweight champ Gervonta Davis. People doubt Santa Cruz’s chances, but he feels optimistic.

Santa Cruz (37-1-1, 19 KOs) held his media workout in the early afternoon on Tuesday, Oct. 20. He shadowboxed and worked the mitts. The 32-year-old champion looked in shape and strong, but Davis is the heavier of the two and has a better knockout rating. Santa Cruz only has one fight in the bank as a junior lightweight.

Santa Cruz stepped up to his new division last October and defeated Miguel Flores for the WBA title. In a unique set of circumstances, Santa Cruz’s junior lightweight title and Davis’s lightweight belt are on the line on Oct. 31 even though the contracted weight is 130 pounds, which is the junior lightweight limit.

A win against Davis would make Santa Cruz a five-division champion, but oddsmakers have Santa Cruz as the underdog despite his past success, glorious record, and experience. According to the Sportsbook Review, most betting brokerages have 3-1 odds against Santa Cruz.

It’s not a position he’s used to, and Santa Cruz shared his thoughts with FanSided following his media workout.

“It is strange not having people believe in you,” Santa Cruz told FanSided. “They’re saying you’re gonna lose. Sometimes it distracts fighters, and it brings their motivation down. It’s just extra motivation to go out there and prove them wrong and shock the world.”

The only other time Santa Cruz wasn’t the odds on favorite to win was before his rematch with Carl Frampton in 2017. Santa Cruz lost their first contest by majority decision, but the majority decision went his favor the second time. His loss to Frampton is the only blemish on his record outside of a draw in his second professional fight.

Davis (23-0, 22 KOs) is the favorite for a good reason. He’s undefeated and will certainly have a weight advantage over Santa Cruz on Oct. 31. But you can’t say that Davis has a size advantage. At 5-foot-7, Santa Cruz is two inches taller than Davis and has a two-inch reach advantage.

“I’m taller. I can keep him on the outside,” said Santa Cruz. “I think it’s an advantage for me.”

Leo Santa Cruz has to overcome Gervonta Davis’s youth, power, and speed if he wants to become a five-division world champion

Since Santa Cruz has moved up to junior lightweight, he says that the added weight has made him stronger. He has also bulked up a bit.

“Right now, I feel stronger at this weight,” said Santa Cruz confidently. “This is the most I’ve been in weight. Before, I used to walk around at 142-143. Now, I’ve been walking around at 148. This is the biggest I’ve been. My body is growing. I feel stronger.”

The single biggest asset for Santa Cruz is in-ring experience. At 25 years old, Davis has youth on his side, but Santa Cruz has more fights and many more rounds under his belt. Santa Cruz has fought 261 professional rounds to Davis’s 79.

“I’ve got a lot of experience from all those rounds,” said Santa Cruz. “I can throw a lot of punches. I can go all 12 rounds, fighting each round, throwing a lot of punches, and Gervonta Davis hasn’t been there that many rounds. He hasn’t been there 12 rounds. I think it’s going to be the difference because he’s not used to going all 12 rounds with a fighter throwing punches. When has a fighter like that in front of him, it’s gonna be frustrating, and it gonna play a big role.”

Santa Cruz needs to rely on his experience against the explosive Davis. Davis has knocked out all but one opponent and punches with speed and ferocity. Santa Cruz isn’t old, but he’s a seasoned veteran marching towards his mid-30s.

Many say that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but Santa Cruz disagrees with that statement. He feels he has room to grow. Santa Cruz has accomplished much over his 14 years as a professional fighter, but he wants more.

“From my point, being 32, I want to improve,” said Santa Cruz in closing. “I want to keep getting better. I want to continue to make history. There’s still many goals that I want to make. I want to be a five-division world champion. I want to be unified world champion. There’s still a lot of things I want to accomplish. I’m still learning things I have to do.”

Gervonta Davis and Leo Santa Cruz meet on Saturday, Oct. 31, on Showtime pay-per-view live from the Alamodome. Coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET, and the WBA junior lightweight and lightweight titles are up for grabs.