There’s a real tiger in the Tank

GIVEN the scale of the risk, there is something ghoulish about Leo Santa Cruz taking on Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis on Halloween.

The fight in San Antonio, Texas, will be the first in front of a live audience since boxing’s return and the winner will take WBA belts at super featherweight and lightweight, though the latter is for the regular version.

It is hell of a risk for four-division champion Santa Cruz (above, right).

He won his first world title at bantamweight. To go up against a ferocious lightweight, albeit at the super featherweight limit of 130lb, is ballsy, to say the least.

Santa Cruz has lost only once in 39 fights. I love the way he fights. He is a volume puncher, he throws a lot of shots.

But he is up against a genuine knock-out artist who just walks through volume punchers.

Unbeaten Davis has been taken the distance only once in 23 fights. He comes into this fight on a run of 14 KOs. His performance against Liam Walsh, unbeaten in 21 at the time, at the Copper Box in London three years ago was astonishing. He blew him away in three.

In his previous engagement, Davis knocked out Jose Pedroza in the seventh, just battering him to claim his first world title, the IBF super featherweight crown.

He is so obviously special but the surprise to me is that, having moved up to lightweight because of struggles making weight, he goes back down for this fight. Maybe that is why Santa Cruz is prepared to gamble, hoping that Davis will lose his power at 130lb.

He says he is going to be cautious and circumspect. He thinks Davis (above, left) is vulnerable late on.

Well, he wasn’t last time out at 135lb against Yuriorkis Gamboa, who he dropped for the third time in the 12th to claim the regular WBA lightweight crown.

For Santa Cruz to win he has to take Davis the distance. He does not have the power shots to disturb Davis unless he is fried at the weight.

If Davis is on the money the fight might not reach halfway.

He is so explosive, a combination of Sugar Ray Leonard and Aaron Pryor.

He waits for you to throw the jab then steps on you with a right over the top and a left hook to the body. He then steps on you again, throwing rapid combinations from every angle.

His speed and power is God-given. And we haven’t seen the best of Davis yet.