Boxing: Davis grabs WBA belt with spectacular 6th round KO of Santa Cruz

LOS ANGELES -- Undefeated Gervonta Davis knocked out Leo Santa Cruz with a vicious uppercut in the sixth round to seize the WBA belt in a junior lightweight world title clash in San Antonio on Saturday.

Davis surprised Santa Cruz with a left uppercut that snapped the champ's head back and sent him crumbling to the canvas late in the sixth round at the Alomodome Arena.

Santa Cruz landed flat on his back under the padding in the corner of the ring and stayed that way for about a minute while ring doctors attended to him. He was eventually able to sit up and was even smiling once he regained his senses.

American Davis improved to 24-0 with 23 knockouts by handing the four-division champion Santa Cruz the first knockout of his star-studded career.

The 32-year-old Santa Cruz, of Mexico, dropped to 37-2-1 with 19 KOs.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, organizers allowed about 10,000 spectators into the arena with masks and social distancing rules in place.

The fight pitted the knockout power of Davis against the endurance and dominating pressure style of Santa Cruz but the latter never got the chance to wear down Davis down in the closing rounds.

The fight began with a solid first round in which the two exchanged punches in the centre of the ring. Davis fell to the canvas but it wasn't because of a knockdown. His right leg got tangled up with Santa Cruz's leg and he tripped. 

Santa Cruz suffered a small cut on the bridge of his nose but his corner did a good job of repairing it.

In the second round Davis's temper got the best of him after he got frustrated during a clinch. Davis used both arms to throw Santa Cruz to the ground prompting a verbal scolding from the referee.

Santa Cruz was looking more comfortable in the sixth and willing to exchange with Davis. But he got careless late in the round and that was all Davis needed to counter a punch and land the brutal shot that put the champion down.

The 25-year-old Davis extended his six-year early stoppage streak to 15 straight bouts.

He vacated the WBA super-featherweight crown to move up to the lightweight ranks last December, stopping Cuban Yuriorkis Gamboa in the 12th-round.

Santa Cruz captured his WBA title last November with a unanimous decision victory over American Miguel Flores.

Agence France-Presse

Frampton wins slugfest over Santa Cruz to claim WBA title

NEW YORK -- Carl Frampton defeated Mexico's Leo Santa Cruz by a majority decision Saturday to claim the WBA featherweight crown and become the first boxer from Northern Ireland to win titles in two divisions.

The challenger Frampton improved to 23-0 with 14 knockouts as he had to overcome a height and weight disadvantage in one of the few times in his career he has moved up to fight at 126 pounds.

"It is a dream come true," said Frampton, who was born in Belfast. "I had a dream of winning a world title and I won it.

"I won it with my heart, not with my head. I got my hand raised."

The 29-year-old Frampton controlled the fight between the two undefeated boxers in the early rounds, landing a punishing left hook in the second round that sent the champ backpedaling across the ring.

He then held on for the win as Santa Cruz gained steam in the middle rounds before the two closed it out by exchanging heavy blows in the middle of the ring as the final bell rang.

One judge scored it even, 114-114, while the other two gave it to Frampton 117-111 and 116-112.

Frampton previously held the IBF and WBA super-bantamweight titles.

Frampton punctuated his impressive early round performance by staggering the champion in the second round with a left hook. His short counter shot slammed into the right side of Santa Cruz's head, sending the Mexican stumbling backwards into the ropes with 45 seconds left in the round.

Frampton then padded his lead by winning the next three rounds before Santa Cruz turned it on in the sixth, which proved to be one of his best rounds of the fight as he landed some solid combination punches.

But Santa Cruz's inability to score enough points in the early going caught up to him as Frampton did not tire in the later rounds.

- 'Get him in rematch' -

"He has a difficult style, but we know his style and will get him in the rematch," Santa Cruz said.

Santa Cruz had considered pulling out of the fight a few months ago because his father and trainer, Jose Santa Cruz, is battling bone cancer.

But dad was at his son's side on Saturday night as the trainer continues to wage the fight of his life against the disease.

Leo Santa Cruz (32-1-1, 18 knockouts) suffered the first defeat of his career, losing the belt he won also by a majority decision when he beat Abner Mares last August. He defended it five months ago when he stopped Kiko Martinez in five rounds.

Frampton won the 126 pound title despite giving away two inches in height and four inches in reach to Santa Cruz.

He is now 5-0 in title fights and 8-0 in fights above 122 pounds.

The crowd of 9,062 at the Barclays Center arena included four-time major championship winning golfer Rory McIlroy.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com