Halloween treat: Davis vs. Santa Cruz on Oct. 31

Boxing

The title fight between junior lightweights Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Leo Santa Cruz, one of the biggest events of 2020, has been moved to Oct. 31 at San Antonio’s Alamodome, the two fighters announced on Friday.

The bout, which will be broadcast on Showtime PPV, is tentatively scheduled to be the first American combat sports event to allow fans since COVID-19 became a pandemic. The number of fans who will be in attendance has not been announced.

Davis (23-0, 22 KOs) is the No. 4 lightweight in ESPN’s divisional rankings. Santa Cruz (37-1, 19 KOs) is ranked eighth among junior lightweights. Cruz will be defending the primary WBA junior lightweight belt.

Santa Cruz, 32, is coming off a unanimous decision against Miguel Flores last November. Davis most recently fought in December, when he stopped veteran Yuriorkis Gamboa.

Davis, 25, needed two attempts to make the 135-pound weight limit for the Gamboa bout. The Oct. 31 fight against Santa Cruz will be at the junior lightweight limit of 130 pounds.

Under current state guidelines, Texas allows 50% of a stadium’s capacity for sporting events. The indoor venue has a listed capacity of 32,000 for boxing events but seats 64,000 for football. Last weekend, the announced attendance for UTSA’s football win over Middle Tennessee was 6,182.

Smaller cards around the country have hosted fans in attendance since the pandemic forced restrictions nationwide. But every major bout has been conducted in a closed environment with no paid spectators.

Premier Boxing Champions, which unofficially promotes Davis and Santa Cruz, held a Showtime PPV event last weekend at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut featuring Jermall Charlo and Jermell Charlo. It was PBC’s first major event since the COVID-19 shutdown.

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