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<\/a>Three-time world champion Gervonta \u201cTank\u201d Davis and four-division champion Leo \u201cEl Terremoto\u201d 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.<\/p>\nTwo of the sport\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cpods\u201d to maintain distance between groups not from the same party. For more information, visit Alamodome.com.<\/p>\n
Here is what the press conference participants had to say Thursday:<\/p>\n
GERVONTA DAVIS<\/p>\n
\u201cMy 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\u2019m well prepared. Hopefully Leo is well prepared and we give the fans what they want to see.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know Leo is going to come with a lot of punches and I\u2019m going to be explosive. It\u2019s all about giving fans a treat. I\u2019m grateful to be in this position and I\u2019m ready. Saturday night is going to be a memorable night.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot to take anything from him, Yuriorkis Gamboa was just trying to survive against me. It\u2019s harder to get punches off when someone isn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t 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\u2019m the top guy in the boxing world. That\u2019s my main goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael Jordan used to read the paper and do what they said he couldn\u2019t do. That\u2019s what I\u2019m doing. I have to prove that I\u2019m the baddest man in the sport on Saturday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeo is going to come to fight and it\u2019s 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\u2019s the position I\u2019m in. Everyone knows I\u2019m great, I just have to show it.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeo has shown that he\u2019s a top tier fighter, and he\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cFloyd 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m 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\u2019s crunch time. I\u2019ve always been able to focus when big things are on the line. That\u2019s what I did for this training camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not really focused on anyone who isn\u2019t Leo Santa Cruz. I can\u2019t overlook Leo. As far as any other fighter out there, they just don\u2019t matter to me right now. I\u2019ll prove it along the way. This is one step closer to proving the point I want to prove.\u201d<\/p>\n
LEO SANTA CRUZ<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what I\u2019ve always dreamed of. When I was a little boy, I wanted to be on this stage. I\u2019m living that dream and I\u2019m very happy and excited. I never thought I\u2019d accomplish it. I thought it was like winning the lottery. But thanks to the fans, I\u2019m here where I\u2019m at.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve 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\u2019re both going to give a great fight to the fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have the heart of a Mexican warrior. My dad has told me to fight a smart fight, but even though he\u2019s going to say that, there\u2019s a good chance I end up brawling with him at times. No matter what, we\u2019re going to find a way to beat him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t really worry about being the underdog. Everyone has their opinion. It\u2019s my job to go out there and prove the doubters wrong. I trained hard to go out there and do that Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cGervonta is the best opponent I\u2019ve faced. He\u2019s the strongest fighter I\u2019ll 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\u2019ve learned a lot more.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cGervonta is a big guy and I know he\u2019s going to come hit hard. But I\u2019ve trained with bigger guys all camp and I\u2019ve been able to take everything thrown at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fans want you to go and make it a back and forth war. I know against Gervonta I have to fight smart. I\u2019m going to just try as hard as I can to listen to my father\u2019s advice.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely took this fight to quiet the critics. People said I didn\u2019t want to fight the big names. So I went after the biggest challenge in the division and that\u2019s Gervonta Davis.<\/p>\n
\u201cI leave the opinions to the fans and media. My job is to get the win and give the fans a great fight. I\u2019m going to give it my best and leave it all in the ring.\u201d<\/p>\n
CALVIN FORD, Davis\u2019 Trainer<\/p>\n
\u201cCamp has been great. It was unbelievable. I really appreciate the work that he put in. I can\u2019t wait to see Tank in the ring. I\u2019m looking forward to great performances from both fighters.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2019Tank\u2019 accomplished a lot of things that I\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time I look at \u2018Tank\u2019 now, I flash back to those younger years in the gym with him as a child. Now he\u2019s the man I\u2019ve always looked at him to be. He\u2019s a family man, business man and a wonderful fighter. It\u2019s amazing to see one of my boys all grown up.\u201d<\/p>\n
JOS\u00c9 SANTA CRUZ, Santa Cruz\u2019s Father and Trainer<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very thankful to be here. I\u2019m 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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\u2019ll be able to see that on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n
STEPHEN ESPINOZA, President, Sports and Event Programming, Showtime Networks Inc.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the biggest reasons I love boxing is because we get to witness young men, like \u2018Tank\u2019 Davis and Leo Santa Cruz, develop and mature right in front of our eyes. This is our ninth fight with \u2018Tank\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember the first time I met \u2018Tank\u2019, 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, \u2018This is my young fighter. Watch out for this kid.\u2019 And we’ve been watching ever since.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey 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\u2019s who they’re going to root for. Because if you know these young men\u2019s stories, what they’ve gone through, and what they’ve experienced, it is incredible.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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. \u2018Tank\u2019 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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. \u2018Tank\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
ABOUT DAVIS VS. SANTA CRUZ<\/p>\n
Davis vs. Santa Cruz will see three-time world champion Gervonta \u201cTank\u201d Davis and four-division world champion Leo \u201cEl Terremoto\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
The stacked undercard will feature unbeaten San Antonio native and WBA Super Lightweight Champion Mario \u201cEl Azteca\u201d Barrios defending his title against hard-hitting Ryan \u201cCowboy\u201d Karl in the co-main event and former super lightweight world champion Regis \u201cRougarou\u201d Prograis will take on unbeaten contender Juan Her\u00e1ldez in a 10-round showdown. In the telecast opener, lightweight contenders Isaac Cruz and Diego Magdaleno will battle in an IBF title eliminator bout.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[AdSense-A] Three-time world champion Gervonta \u201cTank\u201d Davis and four-division champion Leo \u201cEl Terremoto\u201d 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[24049],"class_list":["post-95493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-gervonta-davis-leo-santa-cruz-press-conference-goes-off-the-rails-breaking-boxing-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=95493"}],"version-history":[{"count":-3,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95493\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=95493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=95493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=95493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}