Gervonta Davis previews Leo Santa Cruz bout, says he's a 'legit 130-pounder'
Three-time world champion Gervonta Davis goes 1-on-1 with Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole to discuss his Oct. 31 Showtime Pay-Per-View matchup against Leo Santa Cruz for the WBA super featherweight and WBA "regular" lightweight championships.
Video Transcript
KEVIN IOLE: Hey, everybody. I am Kevin Iole from Yahoo Sports. And on Halloween night, October 31 in San Antonio, there's going to be a big fight, a big pay-per-view card going on for not one, but two titles. Kind of reminds me of back in the day with Sugar Ray Leonard going after two titles on one night.
This young man, Gervonta Tank Davis, who is holding the WBA lightweight championship, he will be defending that. He will also be going for the WBA super featherweight championship. Kind of an interesting night. Tank, how's it going today?
GERVONTA DAVIS: Oh, great. Yourself?
KEVIN IOLE: I am awesome. So explain this. Let's start with this-- two titles in one night. So that means you're going to have to make 130 pounds. So let's start with that. Is that going to be a problem? And why did you agree to go for two titles at one time?
GERVONTA DAVIS: I knew that, first it would not be a problem for me to fight-- or at 130-- or make 130, you know? Just fight for both titles, you know? I think that, you know, that's great. That's at my advantage and things like that because I can maintain that 35, too.
You know, so I'm definitely excited for that, you know? And I'm definitely ready.
KEVIN IOLE: You're from Baltimore. Everybody-- you spent a lot of time in Atlanta, but you've been spending this camp in Las Vegas working at the Mayweather Boxing Club. Why did you decide to make the change for this particular fight? And you know, you've had a couple instances in the past where you haven't made weight. Was that an issue because you know that the title wouldn't be there for you if you don't make 130?
GERVONTA DAVIS: I think just, you know, overall, I think it was just, you know, better for me to train in Vegas and, you know, you know, just in a boxing setting. So I think it's the best for me. And there's a lot of people I could box in the city.
And I think that, you know, that's why me and my team made the agreement to come to Vegas, and you know, be able to train here and put on a great show because we know that Leo going come-- come to fight. He gone come prepared.
KEVIN IOLE: I want to ask you about Leo in a second. But let me ask you this. You know, your trainer Calvin Ford has been with you a long time, kind of a guy that's really done a lot for you in your life outside of boxing. So, you know, he's brought you to this point.
But in this training camp, you know, you've had Floyd Mayweather in there, you know, periodically. We see on social media Floyd popping up, and he's showing you a lot of things. Obviously, Floyd's a boxing savant, one of the greatest fighters ever and a genius in the sport. But is there the risk that you have to people's giving instructions and talking, and that there's going to be a conflict in terms of the message you get?
GERVONTA DAVIS: No. I don't it's going to be a conflict. It's going to be big. You know, I think it helped very well. It's not like Floyd haven't been in my corner before. Or it's, you know, him close up on the ring and things like that telling me what to do. And I just take advice from both of them, you know.
You know, in the beginning of the round, I might do something that Floyd told me. And then the end of the round, I might do something that my coach told me. So I don't think that it would be a problem, you know? And I can't wait.
KEVIN IOLE: Is Floyd going to actually be one of the people who's going to be in the ring with you wearing the corner jacket working, or is he going to be the promoter on Fight Night?
GERVONTA DAVIS: I'm not for sure just yet. But whatever work for him is fine with me.
KEVIN IOLE: OK. Ask you about Santa Cruz. I mean, obviously, Leo's been a tough guy, been around for a long time, won championships. But the big thing you look at here is a guy that, you know, you're a big time power puncher, and you're a legitimate lightweight. You look at him, and, you know, he's a little on the smaller side. Is that-- is size-- are you going to impose your will on this guy if size's going to be a factor in this fight?
GERVONTA DAVIS: Um, no. I think, to be honest, I'm a legit 130-pounder.
KEVIN IOLE: Really?
GERVONTA DAVIS: I think that I could get up to 135. I'll fight comfortable comfortably at 135. But I think my best performance is at 130. So I think I'm a 130 fighter. It happen all the time in a sport that people go up and take worse as a part of the sport.
I don't think that, you know, because he's moving up to 30. You know when I moved up to 30-- I mean, when I won a champion-- a belt at 130, they was already telling me to fight the next fight. They was telling me to fight a pound-- somebody that was on pound-for-pound-- on the pound-for-pound list.
So it's that people that take risks that make them the best. And Leo think he the best, or he dare to be great, you know, by fighting one in the best in the weight class. So I think that's-- you know, that's great for him.
KEVIN IOLE: You have obviously a big fight coming up. But you had a lot of possibilities. If you win the fight you hold two belts, there's a lot of great fighters at lightweight. Devin Hayne is there. Ryan Garcia is there. And of course, now to a Teófimo Lopez has the whole kit and caboodle after beating Lopez-- excuse me-- Lomachenko the other day.
When you look at that, any of those three that you would be interested in next? I mean, does Lopez look appealing to you if you could get that fight given, you know, how many belts he has and what he did against Lomachenko?
GERVONTA DAVIS: I mean, either one of them names, you know, I'm all for it. He definitely looked it-- up to par, you know, last Saturday and things like that. He got the job done. You know, so any one of them guys, you know, if they want to make the fight happen, we can make the fight happen.
KEVIN IOLE: Do you feel like there's a little competition going on now in the division because, you know, I saw, like, you know, Devin Haney was tweeted to Teófimo. And now I interviewed Teófimo yesterday, and he's mentioning you guys and talking. Is there a competition among you guys, you know, because you're all roughly around the same age that, you know, we may be in this era kind of like where we had Sugar Ray Leonard and Duran and Hagler and Hearns back in the '80s? You think this might be something similar with these lightweights?
GERVONTA DAVIS: When you say competition, what you mean?
KEVIN IOLE: Well, I mean, you know, because y'all want to be the best, right? You want to be the best out there. Lopez wants to be the best. Haney wants to be the best. Leo Santa Cruz wants to be the best.
So now you're out-- you all have something to prove to each other, right? So do you want to, you know, kind of feel like, you know, you'll fight each other all mix and match at different times in your careers?
GERVONTA DAVIS: I mean, we can. You know, I'm all for it. You know, I think I'm the top dog out there. Everybody now I'm I'm top dog out there. It speak for itself. So make the hardest line up and fight me.
KEVIN IOLE: Well we will-- we'll see how you do against Leo Santa Cruz.
GERVONTA DAVIS: Them against me.
KEVIN IOLE: Let's talk very quickly. I got two minutes left just to get your talk. Leo Santa Cruz, how does this fight end? I know you believe you're going to win both belts. Do you know him out? Do you win a decision? How do you see it going?
GERVONTA DAVIS: I don't know. I don't know how it'll play out. But I know that, you know, I'll be successful in the fight. I know that, you know, I'm coming to win. I'm not coming to anything else besides what-- I know that's what I trained hard for, you know? So we just got to wait and see.
You know, I'm training every day to put on a great performance. I know he training, you know, hard and things like that. So we just got wait and see and pray that, you know, both of us come out, you know, in great shape as far as, you know, not getting injured that bad. You know, but, you know, this a hurting sport, and that's why I got out there to do.
KEVIN IOLE: You're an unbeaten fighter. But in a way, like, I look you as 22 and 1 'cause you've 22 KO's, and then you got that one decision. Do you feel like that knockout streak means something to you? It's something you want to keep rolling in kind of, you know-- what, I think it's 14 in a row now-- so do you feel like that's important to you and, like, just keep those knockouts rolling?
GERVONTA DAVIS: I don't think it's important. But you know, I think that, you know, I don't want to, you know, get beside myself and try to keep knocking these guys out and then wind up, you know, gassing myself out. But I mean, I'm always-- you know, I believe that if somebody not supposed to be in there with me inside that square and circle, then I'm not going to make them-- you know, I'm not going to let them be inside the ring with me.
So I'mma get 'em out of there, you know. So that's how people get hurt in the later rounds, you know. So I'm definitely-- if he, you know, throw too many-- you know, he be open for too many shots, then I' definitely taking them.
KEVIN IOLE: We will wrap it up on the 31st of October, Halloween night. This man will go for two titles on the same night in the main event of a pay-per-view in San Antonio, Texas, Showtime Pay-Per-View. Gervonata, thank you so much. Good luck against Leo Santa Cruz.
GERVONTA DAVIS: Thank you.