Gervonta Davis to make his second title defense
February 9 WBA junior lightweight champion Gervonta Davis will defend his title against replacement and former super bantamweight champion Hugo Ruiz.
Originally Davis was scheduled to face Abner Mares. However, Mares pulled out of the fight due to a detached retina in his right eye, which he suffered in sparring. Mares was a considerable underdog going into the fight. Factors include his age and being the naturally smaller guy, moving up in weight.
In Ruiz, Davis will be facing a guy who, like Mares, is naturally smaller and who will be moving up in weight. However, Ruiz is much taller than Mares at 5’9.
Davis is an explosive fighter with blazing hand speed and knockout power. While he’ll be the shorter fighter heading into this fight, he possesses the athleticism and quickness Ruiz has never seen in previous opponents.
Ruiz, like mentioned above, will have a significant height advantage, as well as the reach advantage. He’ll need to neutralize the speed of Davis by using perfect timing and an accurate, consistent jab. He also must land his left hook, which may be his best power punch.
Prediction
I think Ruiz’s experience, as a former champion, fighting against quality competition will give him an opportunity to pull off the upset. However, I just simply feel that Davis will be too much for a smaller, outgunned Ruiz who wont be able to avoid the sharp and accurate punches of the champion.
I see Davis scoring a knockout around round six to make another successful defense of his WBA junior lightweight title.
By: Jerrell Fletcher
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