By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten Super World Super Featherweight Champion Gervonta Davis of Baltimore will be taking on former Featherweight Hugo Ruiz of Mexico in Carson, California this Saturday, Feb 9th. The 12-round bout can be seen live in the USA on Showtime while those in Canada can catch the action on TSN 5. Davis won the vacant title in his last outing by stopping Jesus Cuellar in the third round in April. Ruiz last fought in January when he beat Alberto Guevara by a 10-round unanimous decision. Davis was originally supposed to fight Abner Mares, but he withdrew due to injury.
The 24-year-old Davis was a 2012 National Golden Gloves Champion as an amateur and enters the fight with a perfect mark of 20-0 along with 19 Kos. He’s fought just 64 rounds since turning pro back in 2013. However, his performances against Cuellar, Jose Pedraza and Liam Walsh were exceptional and the southpaw has the talent and power to be a long-reigning champion. Of course, the reason for the low number of rounds Davis has boxed is due to his tremendous punching power.
Davis currently has a knockout ratio of 95 per cent as the only opponent to take him the distance as a pro was German Meraz when the pair went six rounds back in 2014. However, Davis still managed to drop him in both the third and fifth rounds. Davis stopped Jose Pedraza in the seventh round for the IBF Title in January of 2017 and then defended it four months later in England when he stopped Liam Walsh in the third round.
Davis’ first title reign came to an end in August, 2017 against Francesco Fonseca though when he failed to make weight. However, he stopped Fonseca in the eighth round. The other opponent you may recognize on his pro boxing resume is likely Cristobal Cruz, who Davis stopped in the third round in October of 2015. Davis stands just over 5-feet-5-inches tall and has a reach of 67.5 inches. He’s obviously got a lot of dynamite in his fists, but his chin hasn’t really been tested as of yet, but could be against Ruiz.
Ruiz is a 32-year-old veteran and former WBC Super Bantamweight Champion. He won that title in 2016 by stopping Julio Ceja in the first round of their rematch after being stopped himself in the fifth round of their first meeting six months earlier. He lost the title in his first defence when Hozumi Hasegawa stopped him after nine rounds. Ruiz has since won his last three bouts. He turned pro back in 2006 and has boxed 174 rounds since.
Since turning pro, he’s also won the WBO Latino Super flyweight Crown along with the WBC Continental Americas Bantamweight and Super Flyweight Titles. He also dropped a split decision to Koki Kameda in a shot at the WBA Bantamweight Crown in 2012 after winning the interim title and defending it four times. Ruiz enters the contest against Davis with a record of 39-4 with 33 Kos. He’s got better-than-average power with a current knockout percentage of 77 per cent.
However, his chin has let him down as he’s been stopped on three occasions. Ruiz stands just over 5-feet-9-inches tall and owns a 70.5-inch reach. He’s four inches taller than Davis and has a three-inch edge in reach, but is used to fighting in the lower weight classes. His biggest wins have been against Jesus Vazquez, Alvaro Perez, Francisco Arce (twice), Yonfrez Parejo, Jean Sampson and Jesus Galicia.
Prediction…
Davis was training to fight Abner Mares, who would have been a tougher test than Ruiz. But Ruiz has a chance to pull off an upset if he’s the aggressor here and push the pace, but it’s not going to be as easy as it sounds. This could be a great action fight with several shifts in momentum. Both men can box and brawl, but I think Davis’ power will eventually be the difference as he retains his title.
