Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz says he’s open to fighting Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis in a rematch if he’s successful in the title defense of his WBA light welterweight title against Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela on August 3rd at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
Cruz Confident Despite Valenzuela’s Threat
Pitbull has got to come through the dangerous fight against Rayo (13-2, 9 KOs), and that’s not a sure-thing win for him. Rayo Valenzuela can punch, and he’s got the height advantage.
Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) notes that Tank Davis is getting hit more than he used to and feels that fighters have learned how to fight him now. They’re landing many shots on Tank, reddening his face and taking him deeper into the fight.
Pitbull Cruz fails to mention that Tank Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) fights only once a year, is getting older, and is fighting better opposition now than in the past.
Even when Tank was younger, he was still getting hit a lot and not looking great. In Tank’s fight against Mario Barrios in 2021, his promoter, Floyd Mayweather Jr., needed to give him a motivational speech in the later rounds when things were looking desperate.
Mayweather climbed to the ring apron and gave Tank a classic ‘Just win one for the old Gipper’ speech. Tank rallied and pulled out the win, but he might have lost without Floyd and his words of encouragement.
Neutralizing Valenzuela’s Power
“We’re training not to feel the power, and he’s not as explosive as he thinks,” said Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz to Fight Hub TV, talking about his opponent Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela for August 3rd.
Cruz was hit a lot in his fight against former WBA light welterweight champion Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero on March 30th, but his offense pulled him through that fight against the easy-to-hit champ.
“I think he’s going to try and take advantage of the distance, but we’re going to clash the entire fight,” said Pitbull Cruz about Rayo.
Valenzuela will fight on the outside and inside, taking advantage of any opportunities he can to try and score a knockout of Pitbull Cruz. Rayo has excellent power and can win this fight if Pitbull doesn’t do a better job on defense, getting out of the way of his heavy shots.
“If you look at his face after the fight, it was all red because he took a lot of punishment, and rivals can get to him,” said Pitbull Cruz about Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis getting hit more now.
One obvious reason Tank Davis gets hit a lot now is that he hangs back, waiting for the perfect moment to land one of his big countershots. With that approach to his fights, Tank gets hit a lot before finally connecting with one of his fight-ending shots.
Ryan Garcia had Tank out on his feet early in their fight in the second round in April of last year, and he was lucky he got through that shaky moment.
If Ryan hadn’t been a walking zombie due to the strength-draining weight stipulations he foolishly agreed to, he would have knocked out Tank Davis.
“In the past, some of his opponents would never go to the fourth or fifth round, and now his opponents are staying after the seventh or eighth rounds,” Pitbull Cruz continued about Tank. “I think they know how to fight him. They know the exact strategic plan for how to fight Gervonta Davis.”
Again, a combination of things has caused Tank Davis to get hit more in his fights lately, but the biggest reason is his inactivity. The ambition hasn’t been there for Tank to stay busy because he’s been enjoying the money he’s made.
Pitbull’s Willingness: Open to a Second Chance
“I have no issues in fighting him again. First, I have to take care of business on August 3rd, and after that, I will let my promoters and managers negotiate with his team. I have absolutely no issues, and I actually welcome the opportunity to fight him again,” said Pitbull Cruz about being interested in fighting Tank Davis again.
If Pitbull Cruz can make fast work of Rayo Valenzuela on August 3rd, he might get lucky to be selected by Tank Davis for his fight in November.
He has an open schedule for that month now that Vasily Lomachenko has broken off negotiations to take the remainder of the year off. Shakur Stevenson and William Zepeda are the two options Tank and his team are considering. However, with the way Tank’s coach, Kenny Ellis, keeps bellyaching about Lomachenko not taking the fight with Tank, you can tell that he’s not excited about him fighting Zepeda or Shakur.
If he liked either of those fights, he wouldn’t be so bitter about Lomachenko still. He would have moved on by now.
“Very entertaining and very explosive,” said Isaac Cruz about his prediction for his fight against Rayo Valenzuela on August 3rd. “I’m getting ready, and the fans are going to tell me if I stole the show or not.”
Pitbull Cruz must try to steal the show with his performance against Rayo Valeuznela because if he wants the Tank rematch, he can put himself in a better position to get that fight by destroying Rayo and stealing the show from the headliner fight Terence Crawford and Israil Madrimov.
“I’m actually happy that all the fans are going to be there that night, and I’m getting ready to give them a good spectacle so they can all enjoy it,” said Cruz.
Interestinly, the August 3rd event still hasn’t sold out, and that’s weird because it’s a great card. Everyone is talking about this card, yet the tickets aren’t selling for some reason.
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