Gervonta Davis Beats Leo Santa Cruz Via 6th-Round Knockout, Wins Title

Gervonta "Tank" Davis (24-0, 23 KOs) earned the biggest win of his young career in spectacular fashion on Saturday night, knocking out Leo Santa Cruz (37-2-1, 19 KOs) with a left uppercut in the sixth round of their title fight at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

Here's a look at the punch, per Showtime Boxing:

DAZN's Andreas Hale and Magic Johnson reacted to the hit:

The Ring's Douglass Fischer called it a candidate for Knockout of the Year:

The fight had been an entertaining back-and-forth affair up to that point. Santa Cruz showed no fear, going right at Davis and trying to get him on the defensive early on. His aggressive approach turned out to be his downfall, as Davis stayed calm, grew into the bout and found an opportunity to show off the prodigious power that has made the 25-year-old Baltimore native a fan favorite.

While the fight was held at 130 pounds, Davis retained his WBA world lightweight title and won the WBA super featherweight world title from Santa Cruz. This was the first knockout loss for the 32-year-old Santa Cruz. Davis said he's ready to take on anyone after the win.

"Line them up, I'll knock them down one by one," he said, per the Showtime pay-per-view broadcast.

Santa Cruz was in fine form early on, applying constant pressure to Davis and forcing him to fight off his back foot. In spots where many fighters might be tentative against a hard hitter like Davis, Santa Cruz instead stuck to his typical game plan and forced the action. Boxing writer Dan Rafael praised Santa Cruz's strategy early on:

Davis appeared frustrated, at one point even pushing Santa Cruz to the ground in the second round. He weathered the early storm and grew into the bout in the third, rocking Santa Cruz with a left hook. To the Mexican fighter's credit, he hung in there and managed to unleash some rapid-fire combinations.

The fourth saw Davis get into a bit of a rhythm with his power punches. A right hook followed by a left uppercut to the head was a particular bright spot, but Santa Cruz refused to retreat. Here's a look at one of the better exchanges, per Showtime Boxing:

Santa Cruz's willingness to go toe-to-toe with Davis would eventually be his undoing. Davis found the timing on his power punches and was able to start landing them in between the bursts of action from Santa Cruz. There might have been opportunities for Santa Cruz to deliver a stunner of his own, but he's lacked serious power at 130 pounds. He was brilliant and brave, but there wasn't enough to keep Davis honest.

The explosiveness from the young champion is going to make him a big draw for years to come. Davis' next opponent is going to have to either respect his power or have enough strength of his own in order to keep Davis on the back foot.