Spectacular Knockout Puts Gervonta Davis on the Map as Boxing's Next Star

There was the usual grumbling from hardcore boxing fans when Leo Santa Cruz and Gervonta Davis (24-0, 23 KO) was announced as a pay-per-view main event. That tends to happen any time a young fighter attempts to make his way into that kind of rarefied air. 

Floyd Mayweather and Mike Tyson were pay-per-view fighters.

Gervonta Davis? Who exactly is Gervonta Davis to ask anyone for $74.99 to watch him fight?

Well, consider that question asked and answered in the most dramatic fashion imaginable.

In the sixth round of a barnburner in which 617 punches were thrown in less than 18 minutes, Davis threw an uppercut that started below his left knee and culminated on Santa Cruz's jaw, immediately rendering him unconscious. 

"Gervonta Davis," announcer Mauro Ranallo said, "just hits different."

It was the kind of knockout normally reserved for action movies and cartoon fight scenes, ridiculous, stylized violence that just happened to be very, very real.

"He was just there for it," Davis said after the fight. "He's a guy that punches but doesn't get out of the way."

The referee never even considered starting a count. Santa Cruz's right leg folded up underneath him and his head crashed into the corner of the ring, luckily saving him from a harder collision with the mat below. There was no possibility that Santa Cruz would beat any kind of count—in fact, the arena held their collective breath until he finally sat up several minutes later.  

Thousands of punches landed during a memorable weekend of boxing from all over the world—but there was only one people will be talking about for years to come. Davis' uppercut was that good, the kind of punch that both makes your heartbeat a little faster and makes you question whether any of this should even be legal.

You never want to see it again—but also can't stop watching the slow motion replay in all its gruesome glory. And, if you're like me, can't wait to sign up to watch Davis fight again.  

Two days ago, Davis compared himself to the greatest basketball player to ever live, the kind of grandiose statement that normally makes observers roll their eyes and laugh snidely if they think he's not looking.

“Michael Jordan used to read the paper and do what they said he couldn’t do. That’s what I’m doing. I have to prove that I’m the baddest man in the sport on Saturday night," Davis said. "Leo is going to come to fight and it’s just about me stepping up and doing what I do best. You can see the potential in a fighter from the outside, but you have to see it actually come out in a fight to believe it. That’s the position I’m in. Everyone knows I’m great, I just have to show it."

Well, no one is laughing now.

Just 25 years-old, Davis stamped his ticket to superstardom right on poor Santa Cruz's face, a punch that both turned out his opponent's lights and made his own shine a little brighter. 

Santa Cruz was no tomato can or punching bag just looking to cash a check as his career slowly winds down. He is an elite fighter in his own right, a world champion whose only previous loss was a close decision to Carl Frampton he later avenged.

While Davis won the battle of the walkouts, coming out accompanied by rapper Lil Uzi Vert and wearing a sombrero in an homage to Mayweather, Santa Cruz concentrated on winning rounds. He brought the fight to Davis, seemingly intent on proving he could withstand the fearsome puncher's worst.

It was true—right up until it wasn't.

Santa Cruz won several early rounds on the strength of pure volume, throwing endless punches and making the normally aggressive Davis try to fight while backing up, a new feeling for a fighter known for his aggression.

It was dicey enough that Davis' promoter Mayweather, wearing a jaunty hat, short sleeve dress shirt and a bow tie, left his ringside seat to personally deliver some instructions to his protege. 

Whether that was for show or not, Davis began targeting the body more, temporarily slowing Santa Cruz's attack. In the sixth round Santa Cruz, however, mashed down on the gas pedal, unleashing a barrage of almost 100 punches, clearly winning the stanza until Davis threw the only blow that really mattered.

Boxing needs viral sensations and fighters capable of making the audience feel alive, like they are about to be a part of something they'll never forget. The ability to compete at an elite level is also critical for any kind of sustained success.

That kind of total package doesn't come along very often. Mayweather and Showtime no longer have a future star on their hands—they have a superstar.

This was a dream finish for Davis and Mayweather. Whether or not this pay-per-view was a financial success, it will undoubtedly launch the young fighter's career to new levels. This is the kind of knockout that reaches far beyond boxing circles, a blow that will be seen by millions on social media and Sportscenter by the time the weekend is over. 

Before this fight, Davis was well known to boxing fans. By next week he'll be a known commodity in the broader culture.

That's a big deal.

Jonathan Snowden covers combat sports for Bleacher Report and is the author of Shamrock: The World's Most Dangerous Man.