The lightweight division wraps up two weeks of excitement Sunday evening when Gervonta Davis puts his WBA “regular” title on the line against Isaac Cruz. The fight takes place at STAPLES Center in LA and tops a Showtime PPV card that gets underway at 8 p.m. ET.
The lightweight division is in flux with a new king of the mountain. George Kambosos, Jr. upset Teofimo Lopez to claim three of the four major belts along with The Ring title. Devin Haney holds the fourth belt, successfully defending his WBC title on Saturday against JoJo Diaz.
Davis has a WBA title and while it’s more than a secondary title, it falls below Kambosos’ “super” title. Make of that what you will, but we all know it’s about making fighters pay more sanctioning fees.
Regardless, if Davis can handle his business on Sunday, he could be in line to fight either Kambosos or Haney. That would likely come with a bigger payday than what he’ll earn Sunday night against Cruz.
We don’t have official numbers, but Total Sportal is here with their report on potential purses for each fighter. Davis is reportedly earning a guaranteed $1 million and 60% of the PPV share, with a potential payout of $2.3 million. Cruz is reportedly guaranteed $300,000 and 40% of the PPV share, with a potential $600,000 payout.
The disparity in pay is not surprising. Cruz was added on November 1 after Rolando Romero was pulled due to multiple sexual assault allegations. He’s a capable fighter with. 22-1-1 record, but he’s a decided underdog in this bout at DraftKings Sportsbook. Cruz is installed at +750 while Davis is a -1400 favorite. The favored outcome is Davis by KO, TKO or DQ at -425.