Like every other boxer in present day, Leo Santa Cruz is unsure of when he will return to the ring.
What he remains certain of, is the short list of high-profile opponents he plans to face once the sport as a whole is given full clearance to resume.
The three-division and reigning junior lightweight titlist was on course to defend his current strap versus undefeated former two-time 130-pound champ Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis (currently a secondary lightweight titleholder) atop a Pay-Per-View budgeted for late spring or early summer. The timeframe was forced to shift due to the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, although such a fight remains his first order of business.
“We don’t know a fight date yet. We’re just waiting for all of this to be over,” Santa Cruz (37-1-1, 19KOs) explained while hosting a live chat on the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) Facebook page from his Southern California home. “Hopefully the summer I can come back and fight Tank Davis.”
A sticking point for the 31-year old has been that the fight take place at his current weight class, where Baltimore’s Davis (23-0, 22KOs) previously competed prior to moving up to lightweight. To date, the stipulation hasn’t been challenged, nor has there been any indication of the 25-year old southpaw looking in any other direction.
Should that day come, however, Santa Cruz has a back-up plan in order to not have to break stride.
“My second option, if Tank doesn’t want to fight, my second option would be Gary Russell Jr.,” Santa Cruz insists.
Such a fight was teased for years while the two saw their featherweight title reigns overlap. Russell Jr. (31-1, 18KOs) still reigns as a 126-pound titlist, recently celebrating his five-year anniversary. The supremely gifted 31-year old southpaw from the greater Washington D.C. area has gone as far as to call out Al Haymon—the high-powered adviser for both boxers (as well as Davis)— at one point to make the fight happen.
Other less effective measures have been taken by Russell Jr., one that has added a personal element to such a fight—not that Santa Cruz wasn’t already on board with such a showdown.
“We’ve been saying that I want that fight,” Santa Cruz insists. “Hopefully we get that Tank fight, but if not, we want Gary Russell.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox