GERVONTA DAVIS VS. LEO SANTA CRUZ FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
October 29, 2020 – Three-time world champion *Gervonta
“Tank” Davis *and four-division champion *Leo “El Terremoto” Santa
Cruz *squared
off at a final press conference Thursday to preview their highly
anticipated SHOWTIME PPV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) main event showdown taking
place this Saturday, October 31 from Alamodome in San Antonio in an event
presented by Premier Boxing Champions.
Two of the sport’s most electrifying fighters, Davis and Santa Cruz will
battle for the WBA Super Featherweight and WBA Lightweight Championships in
a matchup that pits the prodigious power of Davis against the unrelenting
pressure of Santa Cruz.
Davis vs. Santa Cruz is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, TGB Promotions,
GTD Promotions and Santa Cruz Boxing Club. Tickets are on sale now and can
be purchased at Ticketmaster.com. The Alamodome has implemented a
comprehensive health and safety plan to protect against the spread of the
coronavirus. All fans attending the event will be screened upon entry and
are required to wear a mask as well as follow social distancing guidelines.
Tickets will be distributed in seat blocks known as “pods” to maintain
distance between groups not from the same party. For more information, visit
Alamodome.com
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Here is what the press conference participants had to say Thursday:
*GERVONTA DAVIS*
“My team and I decided to move our camp to Las Vegas so we could have a
perfect camp. We spent 15 weeks in training, so I’m well prepared.
Hopefully Leo is well prepared and we give the fans what they want to see.
“We know Leo is going to come with a lot of punches and I’m going to be
explosive. It’s all about giving fans a treat. I’m grateful to be in this
position and I’m ready. Saturday night is going to be a memorable night.
“Not to take anything from him, Yuriorkis Gamboa was just trying to survive
against me. It’s harder to get punches off when someone isn’t trying to
bring the fight. I know Leo is going to come to fight. I think this
performance is going to put me up to the next level.
“I don’t think I have to knock him out, I just have to go out there and be
great. Forget everything else, I just have to go out there and show
everyone that I’m the top guy in the boxing world. That’s my main goal.
“Michael Jordan used to read the paper and do what they said he couldn’t
do. That’s what I’m doing. I have to prove that I’m the baddest man in the
sport on Saturday night.
“Leo is going to come to fight and it’s just about me stepping up and doing
what I do best. You can see the potential in a fighter from the outside,
but you have to see it actually come out in a fight to believe it. That’s
the position I’m in. Everyone knows I’m great, I just have to show it.
“Leo has shown that he’s a top tier fighter, and he’s going up against an
explosive, powerful fighter like myself. I think the winner should be in
the top 10 of the pound-for-pound list.
“Floyd Mayweather has just told me to stay focused despite everything that
comes with pay-per-view week. I have to get the job done first, but also do
everything that comes with being the next pay-per-view star.
“I’m one of those fighters that knows how to focus when I have something
big in front of me. None of the great fighters before me have frozen up
when it’s crunch time. I’ve always been able to focus when big things are
on the line. That’s what I did for this training camp.
“I’m not really focused on anyone who isn’t Leo Santa Cruz. I can’t
overlook Leo. As far as any other fighter out there, they just don’t matter
to me right now. I’ll prove it along the way. This is one step closer to
proving the point I want to prove.”
*LEO SANTA CRUZ*
“This is what I’ve always dreamed of. When I was a little boy, I wanted to
be on this stage. I’m living that dream and I’m very happy and excited. I
never thought I’d accomplish it. I thought it was like winning the lottery.
But thanks to the fans, I’m here where I’m at.
“I’m facing the best fighter in the division. If you want to be the best,
you have to beat the best. I have to go against the best fighter. I wanted
to challenge myself. I know this is a dangerous fight for me, but I want to
test myself.
“We’ve both suffered and been through a lot to get here. Neither of us
wants to go back to where we started. So I know we’re both going to give a
great fight to the fans.
“I have the heart of a Mexican warrior. My dad has told me to fight a smart
fight, but even though he’s going to say that, there’s a good chance I end
up brawling with him at times. No matter what, we’re going to find a way to
beat him.
“I don’t really worry about being the underdog. Everyone has their opinion.
It’s my job to go out there and prove the doubters wrong. I trained hard to
go out there and do that Saturday.
“Gervonta is the best opponent I’ve faced. He’s the strongest fighter I’ll
have faced. The Abner Mares and Carl Frampton fights were great experience
for this kind of fight. I learned a lot from those four fights and since
then I’ve learned a lot more.
“It would mean the world to me to become a five-division champion. It would
be another dream come true. I would put the Santa Cruz last name right up
there with the best.
“Gervonta is a big guy and I know he’s going to come hit hard. But I’ve
trained with bigger guys all camp and I’ve been able to take everything
thrown at me.
“The fans want you to go and make it a back and forth war. I know against
Gervonta I have to fight smart. I’m going to just try as hard as I can to
listen to my father’s advice.
“I definitely took this fight to quiet the critics. People said I didn’t
want to fight the big names. So I went after the biggest challenge in the
division and that’s Gervonta Davis.
“I leave the opinions to the fans and media. My job is to get the win and
give the fans a great fight. I’m going to give it my best and leave it all
in the ring.”
*CALVIN FORD, Davis’ Trainer*
“Camp has been great. It was unbelievable. I really appreciate the work
that he put in. I can’t wait to see Tank in the ring. I’m looking forward
to great performances from both fighters.
“’Tank’ accomplished a lot of things that I’ve asked him to do, but this is
the pinnacle of them all right here. Both of these families have walked the
same line with different trails. They both have a chance to become greats
with this win.
“Every time I look at ‘Tank’ now, I flash back to those younger years in
the gym with him as a child. Now he’s the man I’ve always looked at him to
be. He’s a family man, business man and a wonderful fighter. It’s amazing
to see one of my boys all grown up.”
*JOS**É** SANTA CRUZ, Santa Cruz’s Father and Trainer*
“We had a really good training camp and understand the importance of this
fight. Leo is fully prepared for this fight on Saturday and I expect him to
have a great performance.
“I’m very thankful to be here. I’m so happy to be here with my son for such
a big fight and be able to guide him and help him accomplish his dream.
“We know that Davis is a very strong and accomplished fighter. But Leo has
just used it to motivate him in the gym every day and you’ll be able to see
that on Saturday.”
*STEPHEN ESPINOZA, President, Sports and Event Programming, Showtime
Networks Inc.*
“One of the biggest reasons I love boxing is because we get to witness
young men, like ‘Tank’ Davis and Leo Santa Cruz, develop and mature right
in front of our eyes. This is our ninth fight with ‘Tank’ and 13th with
Leo. We have seen them mature as fighters and we have seen them mature as
young men. We’ve seen them struggle, sweat, and triumph. We’ve seen them
become fathers.”
“I remember the first time I met ‘Tank’, it was April 2016 in Washington,
D.C. He was on the non-televised undercard of an Adrien Broner fight. He
had already fought, he came over during the telecast and Floyd introduced
him. I remember his very words, ‘This is my young fighter. Watch out for
this kid.’ And we’ve been watching ever since.
“I remember the first time I met Leo was in June 2012. Shortly before his
first world title fight. He was a very humble, quiet, soft spoken, almost
shy young men. Very different from the guy that I saw in the ring about 48
hours after that. The point is, we’ve been along for the journey of these
young men.
“They have been battling the odds, literally since birth. We were lucky
enough to spend time with them during *ALL ACCESS*. They opened their
hearts, their minds, and themselves to share their stories. The thing I’ve
heard most is that the difficulty about this fight is not whether people
want to watch it or whether they’re going to buy it, it’s who they’re going
to root for. Because if you know these young men’s stories, what they’ve
gone through, and what they’ve experienced, it is incredible.
“The bottom line is in these two young men we have two of the most
accomplished and popular young fighters in the sport today. Leo has been a
champion almost consistently since 2012. ‘Tank’ had sellouts or near
sellouts in Los Angeles, Baltimore and Atlanta, just last year. We have got
these two accomplished young men fighting on Saturday night. You have to
respect their journey, where they come from, and respect the teams that
come around him.
“We do know what’s going to happen on Saturday night. Leo is going to come
into the ring, throw a lot of punches and show an activity rate that’s
unlike just about anybody else in the sport. ‘Tank’ is going to show the
power, speed, and the athleticism that has made him one of the fastest
rising young stars that we’ve seen in sport in some time. Beyond that, it
will be up to them, just like it’s been up to them for their entire lives.”
*ABOUT DAVIS VS. SANTA CRUZ*
Davis vs. Santa Cruz will see three-time world champion *Gervonta “Tank”
Davis *and four-division world champion *Leo “El Terremoto” Santa Cruz *battle
for the WBA Super Featherweight and WBA Lightweight Championships
headlining a SHOWTIME PPV Saturday, October 31 (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) in an
event presented by Premier Boxing Champions from the Alamodome in San
Antonio, Texas.
The stacked undercard will feature unbeaten San Antonio native and WBA
Super Lightweight Champion Mario “El Azteca” Barrios defending his title
against hard-hitting Ryan “Cowboy” Karl in the co-main event and former
super lightweight world champion Regis “Rougarou” Prograis will take on
unbeaten contender Juan Heraldez in a 10-round showdown. In the telecast
opener, lightweight contenders Isaac Cruz and Diego Magdaleno will battle
in an IBF title eliminator bout.
The event is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, TGB Promotions, GTD
Promotions and Santa Cruz Boxing Club. Tickets are on sale now and can be
purchased at Ticketmaster.com. The Alamodome has implemented a
comprehensive health and safety plan to protect against the spread of the
coronavirus. All fans attending the event will be screened upon entry and
are required to wear a mask as well as follow social distancing guidelines.
Tickets will be distributed in seat blocks known as “pods” to maintain
distance between groups not from the same party. For more information, visit
Alamodome.com
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