Fighters like Raymond Muratalla, Abdullah Mason, William Zepeda and Floyd Schofield represent the direction many expected Davis to move, making the return to Cruz an unusual move, even if the first fight remains one that fans remember.
The fight is booked for the 140-pound division. Their first meeting took place in December 2021 at lightweight and ended with Davis winning a unanimous decision after twelve rounds.
Cruz’s pressure forced Davis (30-1, 28 KOs) in a cautious battle rather than the knockout victories that characterized much of his career. Davis injured his left hand early in the fight and relied heavily on movement, defense and right hand counters as Cruz continued to push forward and throw in volume.
Judges scored the fight 115-113, 115-113 and 116-112 for Davis. Cruz’s pressure kept the contest competitive and produced a physical twelve-round fight that looked unlike many of Davis’ other victories.
Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) continued to build his record after that fight with wins that kept him near the top of the division. His aggressive style and willingness to keep pushing forward made the first fight fans still mention when discussing Davis’ toughest fights.
Davis most recently fought Lamont Roach to a twelve round draw in March 2025 and has been inactive since that fight. A second fight with Cruz would revisit a matchup that continues to garner attention when examining Davis’ career.
The new element is the weight class. The rematch bookings point to a fight at 140 pounds rather than the lightweight limit where they first met.
