Davis vs. Cruz results: Winner, round-by-round scoring, winner

We get a rare Sunday night of championship boxing to close out a big weekend for the lightweight division. Gervonta “Tank” Davis puts his WBA (regular) title on the line against Isaac Cruz at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. The full card will air starting at 8 p.m. ET as part of a Showtime PPV.

Davis is the favorite to win at DraftKings Sportsbook. He’s installed at -1400 while Cruz is a +750 underdog. Total rounds is installed at 6.5 with the over priced to -140. The winning method odds are priced as follows:

Davis by decision or technical decision: +500
Davis by KO, TKO, DQ: -500
Cruz by decision or technical decision: +2200
Cruz by KO, TKO, DQ: +1600
Draw: +2200

If Davis can handle his business on Sunday, he’ll be in position to continue moving up the lightweight ranks. He has bounced between light and junior welterweight, but this win could set up a chance to join the lightweight unification march with George Kambosos, Jr. and Devin Haney. Kambosos won the WBA (super), IBF, WBO, and The Ring titles last weekend with an upset of Teofimo Lopez. Haney successfully defended his WBC title last night against JoJo Diaz. If Davis wins, two of these three will likely face off at some point in 2022.

• Gervonta Davis (25-0, 24 KO) vs Isaac Cruz (22-1-1, 15 KO), lightweights, 12 rounds (Odds: Davis -1400, Cruz +750)

Official scorecards: Gervonta Davis wins unanimous decision with scores of 116-112, 115-113, 115-113. After the fight, Davis acknowledged he hurt his left hand late in the fight and had to rely on his right the final few rounds.

Davis vs. Cruz round-by-round results

Round 1: Cruz 10-9

Cruz was the much more active fighter. He came in with the left hook early and pressed for much of the round. Davis stumbled midway through the round, and it’s not clear if it was from a blow or just tripping. However, in the final 30 seconds he definitely staggered Davis. He didn’t look like he was in serious trouble, but Cruz has his attention, that’s for sure. Cruz went down in the closing seconds, but it was ruled a slip. If this continues, this is gonna be a heck of a fight.

Round 2: Davis 10-9 (19-19)

Cruz was unable to be nearly as active this round. He landed some shots, but Davis was able to get in more shots and exert some authority. Cruz is throwing out some haymakers at times and could be opening himself up to a counter that could end his night in a hurry.

Round 3: Davis 10-9 (29-28)

Davis did a better job keeping things out of the corners. He’s faster than Cruz and was able to use that to avoid much of what Cruz offered. Cruz has generally been more active, but Davis has been more accurate. Cruz is taking some shots well, but these could add up. Davis isn’t dominating rounds yet, but he’s effective enough to take them.

Round 4: Cruz 10-9 (38-38)

Cruz got busier once again. Davis landed some shots, but Cruz was busier and more effective — particularly in the first half of the ring. Midway through the round, the ref warned Davis about a shot to the back kidney area Cruz was complaining about. Davis landed a nice left upper cut in the final 30 seconds but didn’t follow up on it.

Round 5: Davis 10-9 (48-47)

It was a bit of a slow start to the round and the action picked up in the second half of the round. Neither fighter dominated the round, but it seemed like Davis landed more effective shots to grab the round. With one minute left, Davis shoved Cruz as they were breaking up and the ref admonished him. Davis seemed to be clearly frustrated.

Round 6: Davis 10-9 (58-56)

Cruz continues to try and land big shots but Davis has too much speed right now. Davis didn’t land huge shots, but was again more effective and accurate. The clinching has grown a bit and the ref is getting a little more active in breaking them up. Cruz connected enough to keep it close, but Davis did more in the round.

Round 7: Davis 10-9 (68-65)

This was arguably the best round for both fights thus far. In the opening minute Davis hit repeated left hooks. Cruz responded with a couple big shots, but Davis brought his speed and power to bear for much of the second half of the round. Davis bloodied Cruz’s nose, but Cruz got in some solid shots in the final minute. this was a fun round.

Round 8: Cruz 10-9 (75-77)

Davis with yet another active round landing some big shots. Cruz is still countering and not going away, landing some noticeable big blows, including a big uppercut in the closing minute. Cruz slipped twice in the round. It’s possible Davis gets this round, but Cruz had a strong close and I think he might have stolen that round.

Round 9: Davis 10-9 (87-84)

Davis is doing enough to take most of these rounds, but this still felt a little like a lost round for him. He occasionally spends too much time looking for that knockout blow rather than just sticking with the workman-like hooks and jabs that have slowed Cruz in other rounds.

Round 10: Cruz 10-9 (94-96)

Cruz pinned Davis against the corner in the first 30 seconds, but once Davis slipped out, he was able to get in some shots of his own. Things were quiet for much of the next minute, but in the final minute, it appears Cruz hurt Davis with a big blow to the head after a pair of kidney shots. Davis got right pretty quickly, but it was a big round for Cruz.

Round 11: Cruz 10-9 (104-105)

Neither fighter dominated this round and Cruz was just active enough that he might have snagged it. After the big shot in the tenth round, he did nothing that seemed to hurt Davis, but he seemed to land more shots. This is a super close fight heading into the final round.

Round 12: Cruz 10-9 (114-114)

A solid final round for both fighters. Davis had the slight edge for most of the round, but once again Cruz did enough to hang close and maybe steal the round late. Davis had a big shot early in the round and Cruz followed with one of his own a minute later. Cruz landed a big late shot in the final seconds and that very well could prove to be the difference if this is as close on the cards as it looked. Once again, this round could go either way.

My final scorecard: 114-114 — Yep, I ruled this a draw

• Sebastian Fundora (17-0-1, 12 KO) vs Sergio Garcia (33-0, 14 KO), junior middleweights, 12 rounds (Odds: Fundora -250, Garcia +200)

Fundora-Garcia recap: Fundora won a unanimous decision with scores of 115-113, 117-111, 118-110. The 115-113 score feels most on point, but I suppose there were enough rounds that could swing either way that a big swing shouldn’t be shocking. And it’s boxing judges after all!

• Sergiy Derevyanchenko (13-3, 10 KO) vs Carlos Adames (20-1, 16 KO), middleweights, 10 rounds (Odds: Derevyanchenko -425, Adames +320)

Derevyanchenko-Adames recap: Adames escaped with a split decision. He won score cards of 96-84 and 97-93, with the third score being a 95-95 draw. Adames piled up some early rounds to build a lead that he held on to through a tough slog in later rounds. Derevyanchenko was getting to Adames and very well might have been able to win if this fight had been 12 rounds instead of 10.

• Eduardo Ramirez (25-2-3, 12 KO) vs Miguel Marriaga (30-4, 26 KO), junior lightweights, 10 rounds (Odds: Ramirez -600, Marriaga +425)

Ramirez-Marriaga recap: Ramirez claimed a clear unanimous decision in defeating Marriaga. The final scorecards were all 99-90 for Ramirez. He dominated from wire-to-wire and added a knockdown in the third round. This was an entirely one-sided bout in favor of the favored Ramirez.