Gervonta Davis Disposes of Leo Santa Cruz With a Brutal One-Punch Knockout

A night of knockouts in San Antonio ended with the most brutal knockout of them all when Gervonta “Tank” Davis sent Leo Santa Cruz to dreamland with a thunderous left uppercut in the sixth round that brought a sudden conclusion to what had been a very entertaining bout. In fact, Santa Cruz may have been winning the round before lightning struck. The good news is that he was able to leave the ring on his own power after laying prone on the canvas for several minutes. The official time was 2:40.

The Floyd Mayweather Jr protégé from Baltimore who turns 26 next week added to his collection of WBA title belts while improving his record to 24-0 (23 KOs) in what was his first assignment as a PPV headliner. Santa Cruz, who had never previously been stopped, saw his record drop to 37-2-1. The announced attendance at the Alamodome was 9,024, far below capacity but the best turnout of the COVID-19 era.

Co-Feature

In the co-feature, local fan favorite Mario Barrios successfully defended his WBA 140-pound title with a sixth-round stoppage of fellow Texas Ryan “Cowboy” Karl. Barrios was making the first defense of the title he won 13 months ago when he survived a late rally to outpoint Uzbekistan’s Batyr Akhmedov.

Barrios, who was a huge favorite, had too much class for the gritty Karl who never shied away from trading punches. Early in the sixth round, Barrios (26-0, 17 KOs) caught Karl with a right hand that was properly scored a knockdown when Karl’s gloves brushed the canvas. Shortly after, an accidental clash of heads left Karl with a bad gash on his forehead. No one would have faulted him if he had allowed the ring doctor to shut the fight down, but Karl insisted on continuing and was knocked down hard with a straight left, forcing the stoppage. The pride of fly-speck Milano, Texas, Karl’s record dipped to 18-3.

Other Bouts

Regis Prograis would have likely cracked the pound-for-pound list had he put away Josh Taylor when they met in Glasgow in October of last year, but Prograis came out on the short end of a majority decision in a robust fight and has been pretty much off the radar screen since then.

Tonight, the New Orleans native, whose family was uprooted by Hurricane Katrina, returned with a bang, blasting out previously undefeated Juan Heraldez in the third round. A straight left hand sent Heraldez to the canvas and Prograis pressed his advantage, rocking Heraldez with a succession of shots that forced the referee to intervene. The official time was 1:23.

Prograis, a southpaw, improved to 25-1 with his 21^st knockout. Heraldez, a Mayweather Gym product from North Las Vegas who was making his first start in 17 months, declined to 16-1-1.

In the PPV opener, Mexico City’s 22-year-old fireplug Isaac Cruz just may have announced himself as the next great fighter from Mexico with a brutal 53-second wipeout of Diego Magdaleno in a lightweight clash slated for 12.

Cruz (20-1-1, 15 KOs), decked Magdaleno twice with vicious uppercuts, the second of which left Magdaleno propped up against the lower strand of ropes, forcing the referee to waive it off. Framed as an IBF eliminator, the resounding victory puts Cruz in line for a match with Teofimo Lopez, but Teofimo has many options and a Lopez-Cruz will undoubtedly be left to simmer on the backburner until Cruz has a higher profile. Magdaleno, the 34-year-old Las Vegas southpaw, was stopped for the third time as his record falls to 32-4.

In an off-TV prelim, Michel Rivera’s higher work rate earned him a unanimous decision over Ladarious “Memphis” Miller. All three judges had it 97-93. A 22-year-old Dominican, Rivera improved to 19-0. Miller entered the 10-round lightweight contest riding an 11-fight winning streak.

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