Gervonta Davis vs. Isaac Cruz | Showtime PPV - December 5, 2021

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Isn’t Cruz another FW?

[Onetimeonly]

Davis is going to pull his own sexual assault on rcruz.

[gregregegg]

Better opponent than Rolly. Much better. But still a pisstake.

[KiwiRider]

That was satisfying.

[mike_UK]

My god, Tank has some shit tats.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Gervonta Davis-Isaac Cruz Official For December 5, Headlines Showtime PPV From Staples Center

The original runner-up for the opportunity to challenge Gervonta Davis on December 5 has now secured that chance.

Showtime, Premier Boxing Champions and Mayweather Promotions announced Tuesday that Isaac Cruz has replaced Rolando Romero as Davis’ opponent for his upcoming Showtime Pay-Per-View fight at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Romero officially was removed from their WBA world lightweight championship match Monday due to an ongoing investigation into an alleged sexual assault that a North Las Vegas woman has told police in Henderson, Nevada, occurred in the fall of 2019.

Cruz (22-1-1, 15 KOs) is the WBA’s number two contender in the lightweight division. Romero (14-0, 12 KOs) is ranked number one by the WBA and his rivalry with Davis (25-0, 24 KOs) generated more interest in a pay-per-view fight Davis was widely expected to win.

The 23-year-old Cruz also is a big underdog against Davis, a left-handed knockout artist from Baltimore. Mexico City’s Cruz has been built up, however, into an eventual opponent for Davis, a left-handed knockout artist who has competed in the junior lightweight, junior welterweight and lightweight divisions over the past year.

Cruz was the second choice of Mayweather Promotions to become Davis’ next opponent. They settled on Romero, who also is promoted by Mayweather’s company, in part because Romero’s over-the-top promotional approach would better help sell the event.

Romero, 26, mocked Davis and talked trash throughout their press conference October 21 outside of Staples Center. A week-and-a-half later, organizers of the event officially removed Romero from it.

Once Romero’s legal predicament became clearer, the 26-year-old Davis’ handlers turned to Cruz, an aggressive, rugged contender nicknamed “Pitbull.” At 5-feet-4, Cruz stands about four inches shorter than Romero and an inch-and-a-half shorter than Davis.

Boxing Scene and several other outlets reported over the weekend that Cruz was the frontrunner to replace Romero. ESPN.com’s Mike Coppinger first reported that Cruz had officially agreed to a deal to face Davis on short notice.

Cruz has won 11 straight fights since he settled for a six-round draw with Mexico’s Jose Calyecac (then 5-2) in September 2017. Cruz’s lone loss came by eight-round unanimous decision to countryman Luis Miguel Montano (then 8-5) in February 2016.

In his most recent action, Cruz clearly won a 10-round unanimous decision over fellow Mexican Francisco Vargas. Cruz out-pointed Vargas (27-3-2, 19 KOs), a former WBC super featherweight champion, by scores of 100-89, 99-90 and 97-92 on June 19 at Toyota Center in Houston.

Showtime has aired Cruz’s past four fights on “Showtime Championship Boxing,” Showtime Pay-Per-View or “ShoBox: The New Generation.”

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Certainly isn’t the worst..

Sebastian Fundora-Sergio-Garcia

Sergiy Derevyanchenko-Carlos Adames

Eduardo Ramirez-Miguel Marriaga

[margaret thatcher]

its decent, nothing special, especially for a weak main event, is adames going to 160 or sergey to 154, or catchweight?

[ironbeard]

Not paying for this.

[gregregegg]

Weak main event but excellent under-card so far. Well matched.

[margaret thatcher]

its decent but whats so great about it?

good fight between fundora and garcia, hot prospect vs good euro champ

derev vs adames is kinda weird since adames was always at 154. old veteran/gatekeeper vs a jmw who lost his big fight

edurado ramirez vs marriaga. a once hot prospect on the comeback vs another gatekeeper type


it's certainly not awful, but given how weak the main event is, this seems like a pretty dumpy ppv card

[gregregegg]

its decent but whats so great about it?

good fight between fundora and garcia, hot prospect vs good euro champ

derev vs adames is kinda weird since adames was always at 154. old veteran/gatekeeper vs a jmw who lost his big fight

edurado ramirez vs marriaga. a once hot prospect on the comeback vs another gatekeeper type


it's certainly not awful, but given how weak the main event is, this seems like a pretty dumpy ppv card

USA prospect vs euro champ Thats pretty juicey in my eye,

Derev is still a condender in my eyes. he has won 17ish of 36 rounds against elite compitition (amazingly lost em all). needs to stay standing round 1.... He goes into a tough but should win fight.

nice featherweight fight.

None of the fights are forgone conclusions, i like that.

[Ruthless-RKO]

its decent but whats so great about it?

good fight between fundora and garcia, hot prospect vs good euro champ

derev vs adames is kinda weird since adames was always at 154. old veteran/gatekeeper vs a jmw who lost his big fight

edurado ramirez vs marriaga. a once hot prospect on the comeback vs another gatekeeper type


it's certainly not awful, but given how weak the main event is, this seems like a pretty dumpy ppv card

Doubt Derev would be going down tbh.

We’ll find out on the undercard press release.

Watch this space

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PPV Undercard Press Release

Rising super welterweight star Sebastian “The Towering Inferno” Fundora will square off against fellow unbeaten Sergio Garcia in a WBC Super Welterweight World Title Eliminator that serves as the co-main event of the Gervonta Davis vs. Isaac Cruz SHOWTIME PPV on Sunday, December 5 in a Premier Boxing Champions event from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.

The pay-per-view will begin at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and will also feature hard-hitting middleweight contenders Sergiy Derevyanchenko and Carlos Adames squaring off in a 10-round battle. Kicking off the pay-per-view, top featherweight contender Eduardo Ramirez faces former title challenger Miguel Marriaga for 10 rounds of action.

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, GTD Promotions and TGB Promotions, are on sale now and can be purchased at AXS.com.

“This is a pay-per-view undercard that perfectly fits with what the main event between Gervonta Davis and Isaac Cruz will deliver – all action from start to finish,’’ said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions. “Sebastian Fundora, Sergio Garcia, Sergiy Derevyanchenko, Carlos Adames, Eduardo Ramirez and Miguel Marriaga are all hard-hitting boxers who come to fight and are looking for the knockout. Fans that purchase tickets to STAPLES Center or tune in to SHOWTIME PPV on Sunday, December 5 can expect explosive entertainment from start to finish.’’

Fundora (17-0-1, 12 KOs) continues to rise up the super welterweight ranks and recently delivered his most impressive victory to date by stopping Jorge Cota in four rounds in May. The six-foot-six brawler has reached this point by showing off the skills of a rugged boxer who is more comfortable fighting on the inside than most. Born in West Palm Beach, Fla. to his Mexican mother and Cuban father and trainer, Freddy - both boxers - the 23-year-old now lives and trains in Coachella, Calif.

"I'm super excited to be back in the ring," said Fundora. "I haven't stopped training since my fight against Cota and I'm always prepared for every opportunity that arises. I don't know much about Garcia, but my promoter has told me for the past two years that he's from Spain and he's ranked number two in the WBC. So it only makes sense for me, being the number four-ranked fighter in the WBC, that we face each other. This is going to be an exciting fight on December 5."

The 29-year-old Garcia (33-0, 14 KOs) will bring an edge in pro experience into his U.S. debut against Fundora on December 5. Fighting out of Torrelavega, Cantabria, Spain, Garcia has competed professionally since 2012. He ascended the rankings by traveling to the U.K. to defeat then unbeaten Ted Cheeseman on his home soil in 2019 and followed up with a triumph over veteran contender Sergey Rabchenko. Garcia has added three victories since then, including 2020 wins over Pablo Mendoza and Gregory Trenel.

“I want to thank my team for giving me this opportunity to show my boxing skills to the U.S. audience,” said Garcia. “I’m very excited to make the most of this chance that I have. After winning four European championships and other important titles, I feel that I’m ready to win a world title. I am only focused on Sebastian Fundora, but after this fight I want Jermell Charlo or Brian Castaño.”

A 2008 Olympian for his native Ukraine, Derevyanchenko (13-3, 10 KOs), will seek another opportunity at a middleweight world title. Known as “The Technician” and now training out of Brooklyn, Derevyanchenko is long established as a top middleweight contender, having faced the likes of Jermall Charlo, Daniel Jacobs and Gennadiy Golovkin. He owns victories over contenders including Tureano Johnson, Jack Culcay and Sam Soliman. .His most recent fight ended in a decision loss to Charlo in a SHOWTIME PPV headlining fight in September 2020.

“I’m excited to get back in the ring and continue my journey toward becoming world champion,” said Derevyanchenko. “Adames is a good fighter and I respect what he can do, but he’s standing in my way right now. I’m looking forward to this challenge and I can’t wait to give the fans another great fight.”

A native of Comendador, Dominican Republic, Adames (20-1, 16 KOs) fights out of New York City as he seeks to earn a second shot at a world championship. The 27-year-old defeated a slew of contenders including Frank Galarza, Joshua Conley, Alejandro Barrera and former Champion Carlos Molina on his way to a 2019 title shot that he lost by narrow decision to Patrick Teixeira. In his most recent outing, Adames scored a third-round TKO over Alexis Salazar on the Davis vs. Barrios SHOWTIME PPV undercard in June.

“I am very happy to return to action on December 5,” said Adames. “I’m having an excellent and very demanding training camp, so my opponent better be 100% ready. It’s very exciting to be on the undercard of this huge event. My fans expect a great performance from me and I’m going to deliver it.”

Fighting out of Sinaloa, Mexico, Ramirez (25-2-3, 12 KOs) has risen up the featherweight rankings with three-straight sensational knockout victories. He stopped then-unbeaten Leduan Barthelemy in November 2019 before blasting out Miguel Flores in December 2020 and most recently dropping Isaac Avelar in May. The 28-year-old is currently riding wins in five of his last six fights since losing to then 126-pound champion Lee Selby in 2017. He’s won 16 of his last 19 fights overall, with his only other blemishes coming in a draw against Barthelemy that was later avenged, and a decision loss to Claudio Marrero.

“I can’t wait to be back on another big card against another very good fighter in Miguel Marriaga,” said Ramirez. “He’s very strong and he has good experience against top fighters. Vasyl Lomachenko is the only one to stop him, but I will be the second because I need to make a statement with this fight and show everyone that I’m ready to fight for the title.”

A former world title challenger at 130 and 126 pounds, Marriaga (30-4, 26 KOs) most recently stopped Jorge Garcia Jimenez in April to make it victories in five of his last six outings since 2018. The 35-year-old fights out of Arjona, Colombia and has fought professionally since 2009. Marriaga went the distance in a pair of featherweight title fights against Oscar Valdez and Nicholas Walters, in addition to losing a super featherweight title fight to Vasyl Lomachenko.

“I am training very hard for this fight as I always do,” said Marriaga. “I’m very happy with my All-Star Boxing team for getting me this fight. Winning on December 5 will propel me to another world title fight. My only goal is to achieve my childhood dream of becoming a world champion and I’m not going to let this opportunity slip by me.”

[Ruthless-RKO]

Is this Poll disrespectful to Cruz?

I should amend it shouldn't I?

[Ruthless-RKO]

its decent, nothing special, especially for a weak main event, is adames going to 160 or sergey to 154, or catchweight?

It's at 160.

[Cent0089]

Decent undercard with shytty main event. Looking forward to see Derevyanchenko back in action. Adames is no joke

[Ruthless-RKO]

Ellerbe On Haney’s Willingness To Replace Rolly, Fight Tank On Short Notice: F--- Eddie Hearn!

Gervonta Davis’ promoter was in no mood Monday to entertain speculation regarding Devin Haney’s supposed willingness to replace Rolando Romero on short notice before Isaac Cruz secured that assignment.

A reporter for Boxing Social, a YouTube channel with operations based in England, asked Leonard Ellerbe during a virtual press conference if he could confirm whether he had contact with Eddie Hearn, Haney’s promoter, about the possibility of the unbeaten WBC world lightweight champion stepping in for Romero late last month.

Hearn told Boxing Social and other outlets before Mexico’s Cruz was named as Romero’s replacement that Haney would fight the dangerous Davis on approximately five weeks’ notice.

“F--- Eddie Hearn! F--- Eddie Hearn,” Ellerbe, Mayweather Promotions’ CEO, stated during a virtual press conference to promote the Davis-Cruz fight. “We here to talk about Isaac Cruz. We’ve got a big pay-per-view fight on December the 5th.”

Davis, 27, and Cruz, 23, will headline Showtime Pay-Per-View’s four-fight event scheduled for the first Sunday night in December at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Romero (14-0, 12 KOs) was supposed to challenge Baltimore’s Davis (25-0, 24 KOs) for the WBA’s secondary 135-pound championship December 5, but he was removed from their bout because a woman reported an alleged sexual assault by Romero to police in Henderson, Nevada. The 26-year-old Romero has not been charged with a crime, but the alleged incident is under investigation.

Two days after Romero was officially pulled from the Davis fight, Cruz was officially named as Romero’s replacement. Haney, despite his interest, would’ve been a much more expensive opponent for Davis and was not seriously considered as Romero’s replacement.

Cruz (22-1-1, 15 KOs) is the WBA’s second-ranked contender for Davis’ title. Romero, of North Las Vegas, Nevada, is ranked number one by the WBA in the 135-pound division.

“I don’t know anything about the [Romero] situation,” Hearn told Boxing Social late in October, “but I spoke with Devin and said, ‘Are you happy to put your name in the mix?’ And he said, ‘Yeah,’ because at the moment ‘No-Go’ Diaz has not signed his contract after being offered more to fight Devin Haney than he was getting to fight Ryan Garcia. So, we’ll have to see what happens. We want to make the ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz fight, but he has to hurry up and sign the contract.”

Diaz (32-1-1, 15 KOs), of Downey, California, signed his contract soon thereafter to challenge Las Vegas’ Haney (26-0, 15 KOs) in a main event DAZN will stream December 4 from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

[Ruthless-RKO]

All these American promoters and managers only say one thing about Eddie Hearn..

"F*ck Eddie Hearn!"

"F*ck Eddie Hearn!"

"F*ck Eddie Hearn!"

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virtual press conference

Here is what the press conference participants had to say Monday:

GERVONTA DAVIS

“I’m happy and excited to be in this position, I’ve been working hard getting ready for this new opponent. I know Cruz is going to come to fight. The fans are going to be the winners in this fight because we’re both coming in prepared to be at our best. I’m ready to put on a great show on December 5

“Anything can happen in boxing, so I just try to stay on task. I’m always ready to step up to any challenge thrown my way and get the job done.

“This is a more interesting fight now because we both come forward. This is going to be something great for the fans and another exciting night for the sport of boxing. May the best man win. We’re both coming with our ‘A’ games.

“He can say I haven’t faced someone like him, but he’s never fought anybody like me either. I can box and I can hit. We’ll see what he’s saying when he gets hit in the face.

“December 5 is going to be fireworks for sure. It’s going to be something you can’t miss. Don’t go get your popcorn or anything like that during this fight. This is another tough task, but this is what I’m made for.

“You always have to adapt in boxing. No matter what comes your way. I’m going to adapt to Cruz. I’m figuring out every day how Cruz is thinking and what he’s going to bring to the fight.

“Cruz has impressed me in his past fights. He comes in there to win. He doesn’t look to just hang in there. He wants to go in and take it. He’s not an opponent I can overlook. A win over him would be big for me.

“It is different training to fight a shorter opponent. I usually fight guys taller than me, so it’s an adjustment. It’s another thing I have to adapt to. Everything we’re doing is to figure him out.

“December 5 is going to be a fireworks show. This is going to be one of the best fights of the year. It’s not just a boxing match, it’s an event. Make sure you come out.

“I’m excited to be in this position. I’m grateful for it. I’m trying to continue to grow as a fighter and just improve each day.”

ISAAC CRUZ

“December 5 is going to be a great fight. I’m ready to shock the world and become the next star in the pantheon of Mexican boxing champions.

“I’m ready to put on a show on December 5 at STAPLES Center. There was a wide array of feelings when I knew I got this fight, but most of all, it made me really motivated to be ready for this opportunity.

“We are not overconfident in any way, but Gervonta has not fought anyone with my style and with my characteristics. We’re working really hard to make sure my style will work the best that it can on December 5.

“The real winner of this fight is going to be the fans. ‘Pitbull’ and ‘Tank’ are going to crash into each other and people will be on the edge of their seats.

“I can guarantee that I’m hungry and motivated to win this fight. I’m fighting for more than myself, I’m fighting for my family and to make my country proud. I know that if I win this fight, it will change my whole career.

“The key to defeating Gervonta is for me to want it more. I want that belt in my hand. It’s going to come down to determination.

“I’m always thankful for the opportunities I get. It’s my job to work hard and take advantage of each opportunity as I get them. I’m going to come forward and present my power. Once he feels my power, the fight is going to turn toward me.

“It’s up to Gervonta to show that he’s a superstar in the ring. I don’t see him as an impossible task to defeat at all.

“I always want to fight the best and Gervonta is one of the best. I’m training really hard so that I’m up to that challenge.”

LEONARD ELLERBE, CEO of Mayweather Promotions

“This is an exciting matchup, with the most exciting fighter in the world, Gervonta Davis, taking on Isaac Cruz, who is a tough lightweight and a bonafide top-10 contender. He has an action-packed style himself and he’s looking to knock ‘Tank’ off his throne.

“Mexico is riding high off of Canelo Alvarez’s historic undisputed championship victory and now there’s a big opportunity for Cruz to stand up for his country and take ‘Tank’ out. I’ve had my eye on Cruz since he knocked out Diego Magdaleno on ‘Tank’s’ undercard last year. I was very impressed with the knockout and knew he might get this opportunity down the line.

“’Tank’ is always ready. He stays ready, so he doesn’t have to get ready. This fight is going to be nothing but fireworks on December 5 and it’s definitely ending in a knockout.

“Cruz is coming to fight. He’s not a last-minute replacement. He was already fighting on this card, so he’s going to be ready. ‘Tank’ is going to have to be on point for every second of this fight, because Cruz puts a lot of mental pressure on you with the way that he fights.

TOM BROWN, President of TGB Promotions

“This is going to be an incredible fight on December 5. Los Angeles has been a great boxing city going back over 100 years. Fighters from Mexico City come in with a ton of pride, courage and desire. They flat out don’t want to lose. Cruz is a certified Mexican warrior from Mexico City.

“STAPLES Center has a rich tradition of bringing the biggest and best fights to Los Angeles. With Gervonta Davis, you know there will be an incredible atmosphere in the arena. It’s going to be bombs away and you won’t want to miss it on December 5.”