Gervonta Davis hit Leo Santa Cruz with a ‘vicious’ uppercut that had ‘serious venom’ even Conor McGregor was ‘praying for his health and safety’

There are few fighters more devastating on the planet than Gervonta Davis and Conor McGregor can attest to that first-hand.

The aptly named ‘Tank’ returns to the ring this Sunday against Isaac Cruz where he will defend his WBA ‘regular’ lightweight title.

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Cruz is a durable Mexican who has not lost for five years and has never been knocked out, yet facing Davis is a whole other spectacle.

Despite standing just 5ft 6ins, the Baltimore-native packs incredible power and he boasts a 96% knockout ratio – with 24 of his 25 wins coming inside the distance.

Perhaps none of them were as savagely spectacular as his demolition of Leo Santa Cruz at the Alamodome in San Antonio last October, when Davis left the Mexican warrior crumpled in a heap.

Fighting back from the corner, the former four-weight world champion fired back shots, yet opened himself up to a left uppercut from hell which connected and left him out cold.

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Santa Cruz was taken to hospital and thankfully made a great recovery, yet it drew a response from the former UFC champion McGregor who watched the replays as his ‘Proper Twelve’ branding flashed in the background.

He wrote: “My lord! What a vicious uppercut that was. Praying for the health and safety of Santa Cruz there. The young man “Tank” Davis has some serious venom in that back-hand shot. Incredible!”

The Irishman is no stranger to landing spectacular knockouts himself, but is recovering from a broken leg sustained in a defeat to Dustin Poirier in 2021.