Leo Santa Cruz explained why he was so aggressive about getting Gervonta Davis to fight him. The four-division champion grew tired of boxing fans questioning his heart and criticizing his overall level of opposition after avenging his lone loss to Carl Frampton in January 2017.
Santa Cruz realized no one could condemn him for fighting the dangerous Daviss.
“I wanted this fight because most people were saying that I was scared to fight big names, that I was always getting tune-up fights,” Santa Cruz told BoxingScene.com. “Gervonta Davis is a great fighter. He has great skills, great power and who better to pick than Gervonta Davis as a great opponent for me? In this fight, I’m gonna show the world that I’m not scared of nobody and I can fight whoever.”
Odds-makers have installed Davis as an approximate 7-1 favorite to beat Santa Cruz.
“It’s just more motivation for me,” Santa Cruz said. “I get more motivated because I wanna prove them wrong and show them that I have what it takes to go out there and beat him.”
“Tank Davis is a great puncher, he’s a bigger guy and they see me coming up from a lower weight,” Santa Cruz said. “I was at 126 and I moved up to 130, so they see Tank Davis as a bigger guy. I’m just gonna go out there and show them that I’m a great fighter, and I can compete against anybody.”