Gervonta Davis fought through an injured left hand, but was able to hold on a win a 12-round unanimous decision over tough challenger Isaac Cruz to retain the WBA Lightweight title in front of an enthusiastic crowd at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The fight was entertaining with Davis looking to land uppercuts with both his left and right hands. Cruz lived up to his pressure fighting scouting report as he tried to stay in the chest of Davis. Davis was able to build up an early lead by landing those uppercuts and hard left hands. Somewhere towards the middle of the fight, Davis seemed to hurt his left hand.
Cruz was able to close the gap down the stretch as he was able to land some good combinations. Davis did a terrific job in round 12, as he was clearly hurt, but able to avoid Cruz’s aggressive onslaught and land some solid counters of his own.
Davis landed 133 of 462 punches; Cruz 121 of 553.
Davis, 134.5 lbs of Baltimore, MD won by scores of 116-112 and 115-113 twice to raise his mark to 26-0. Cruz, 134.5 lbs of Mexico City is 22-2-1.
“That’s my style. ‘Pitbull’ is always going to be on the attack,” said Cruz. “I think we retained rhythm from the start to the end.”
“He’s a shorter fighter, so I was throwing down on the top of his head,” said Davis. “I hit him with my knuckle and messed it up. I hurt my hand in the sixth round. No matter if the opponent is taller or shorter, I’ve got to get through it. He’s a warrior. Even though he didn’t win, a star was born tonight.”
“It was right around the fifth round I saw that his hand wasn’t working correctly,” Cruz observed.
“Viva Mexico. I have nothing to say, the fans are speaking on who won this fight,” he said.
“L.A., we did it for Kobe,” said Davis. “At the beginning of the fight, he came on strong. I felt as the fight was going, he was breaking down. But I hurt my hand, so I wasn’t able to get him out of there.
“Whatever the best opportunity is for me, I’ll do it. All of them guys are easy work. I’m the top dog.
Fundora Decisions Garcia
In a battle of undefeated super welterweight’s, 6’7″ Sebastian Fundora won a 12-round unanimous decision over Sergio Garcia.
In round four, both guys began to bleed as Fundora started to leak from his nose and Garcia started to bleed around the right eye. It was a tough fight on the inside with Garcia trying to back up Fundora. Fundora was efficient with his volume punching.
Fundora landed 187 of 717 punches, Garcia was 163 of 778.
Garcia took some late rounds to make the scores close, but Fundora won by scores of 118-110, 117-111 and 115-113.
Fundora, 153.25 lbs of Coachella, CA is 18-0-1. Garcia, 153.5 lbs of Spain is 33-1.
“I was using my distance a lot more. I wanted to display something different than what I’m used to,” said Fundora. “Height was definitely a difference in this fight.”
“Maybe things could have been different if I had been more aggressive from the beginning,” said Garcia. “I shouldn’t have let myself get carried away by what he was doing.”
“We just beat the No. 2 in the WBC, so we have No.1, and we have the champion,” said Fundora. “Whoever they give us next, we’re ready for.”
Adames Decisions Derevyanchenko
Carlos Adames won a 10-round majority decision over former world title challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko in a middleweight bout.
It was an action packed fight that saw both guys land serious leather on their opponent. Adames landed the flashier punches and pushed the action, and won by scores of 97-93, 96-94 and 95-95.
Adames landed 161 of 564 punches; Derevyanchenko was 157 of 562.
Adames, 159.5 lbs of Washington Heights, NY is 21-1. Derevyanchenko, 159.5 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is 13-4.
“This means a lot for me in my career and this is a big accomplishment winning against a fighter of his caliber,” said Adames, who was born in the Dominican Republic and fights out of Washington Heights in New York City.
“I am aggressive and speedy by nature, so I came in ready to do my thing. He started slow, wanting to see what would happen, and simply had the wrong game plan. He got a bit tired as the fight went on, took a lot of hard shots from me and it was evident that I caused him a lot of damage.”
“I expect my opponent to fight the same style. It was nothing special for me, just a quality fight,” said Derevyanchenko.
“He stayed southpaw, that was the difference in the fight. I don’t know what I’ll do next. I need a little bit of rest and then I will go back to the gym because I love boxing and I love the show.”
“This gives me an opportunity to move on,” said Adames. “I dominate at both 154 and 160, so wherever they give me the opportunity to fight for a championship is where I’ll go.”
Ramirez Decisions Marriaga
Eduardo Ramirez won a 10-round unanimous decision over Miguel Marriaga in a super featherweight bout.
In round three, Ramirez dropped Marriaga with a straight left. Ramirez continued to beat up Marriaga with hard combinations throughout the contest.
Ramirez landed 280 of 76 punches; Marriaga was 159 of 689.
Ramirez, 129.5 lbs of Durango, MEX won by scores of 99-90 on all cards and is now 26-2-3. Marriaga, 129.5 lbs of Arjona, COL is 30-5.
“I would like to thank the fans, SHOWTIME and the Montiel family for supporting me. Marriaga was a tough opponent, but I managed to dominate,” said Ramirez. “I had a varied fighting style and kept him on his toes the whole time.”
“We started out strong, but then things got progressively harder. Having said that, we are pleased with the work we put in today,” said Marriaga. “We should have been more savvy, but we tried our hardest in the face of a great opportunity that unfortunately we could not take advantage of.”
“Now I’m going to relax with my family and enjoy the holidays,” said Ramirez. “Then hopefully 2022 will come with a title shot for me.”
