Rising unbeaten lightweight Gervonta “Tank” Davis (12-0, 11 KOs) and undefeated prospect Miguel Cruz (10-0, 9 KOs), from nearby Lake Mary, Fla. are featured in separate bouts as part of undercard action on Friday, October 30 at The Venue at UCF, located behind the CFE Arena in Orlando, Fla.
The October 30 event is headlined by heavyweights Tony “The Tiger” Thompson (40-5, 27 KOs) and Malik “King” Scott (37-2-1, 13 KOs) on Premier Boxing Champions – The Next Round on Bounce TV and streaming on BounceTV.com. Heavyweight world champion Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder will serve as a guest analyst for the show on Bounce TV.
Televised coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET and features undefeated super lightweights Lydell Rhodes (23-0-1, 11 KOs) and Sergey Lipinets (7-0, 6 KOs) in a 10-round bout, plus undefeated prospects Javontae Starks (13-0, 7 KOs) and Samuel “El Macho” Figueroa (9-0, 4 KOs) in eight rounds of welterweight action.
Davis faces former world champion Cristobal Cruz (40-18-4, 24 KOs) in a eight-round lightweight battle and Cruz will face Jonathan Batista (14-7, 7 KOs) in an eight-round welterweight affair.
Also featured on the undercard is James McGirt Jr. (24-3, 13 KOs), son of former world champion “Buddy” McGirt, as he takes on Demetrius Walker (8-10-2, 4 KOs) in a six-round super middleweight contest.
The hard-hitting action continues with 22-year-old Gary Antonio Russell (4-0, 3 KOs), brother of featherweight world champion Gary Russell, in a six-round bantamweight attraction against Gabriel Braxton (2-11, 1 KO) out of Red Oak, Georgia and Orlando’s Mercia Figueroa (1-0, 1 KO) in a four-round cruiserweight contest against Boston’s Kevin Miller (0-1).
A highly-regarded prospect who won the 2012 National Gloves championship, the 20-year-old Davis has already recorded three stoppage victories in 2015. Most recently, the Baltimore-native stopped Recky Dulay in the first round in September. He owns a decision victory over veteran German Meraz and will take on a former world champion in Tijuana, Mexico’s Cruz on October 30.
Born in Aguada, Puerto Rico and now residing minutes outside of Orlando, the 25-year-old Cruz was a member of the Puerto Rico National Team as an amateur. He turned pro in 2012 and owns four victories in 2015 as he ended fights with Daniel Rodriguez, Eli Addison, Juan Rodriguez and Travis Hartman inside the distance. He will take on the 31-year-old Batista of the Dominican Republic.
Born in Brentwood, New York like his world champion father, McGirt now trains and resides in Vero Beach, Fla. The 32-year-old was successful early in his career against fighters Ramond Joval, Jason Naugler and Patrick Perez but stepped away from the sport following a loss to then unbeaten Edwin Rodriguez in 2010. He returned in 2014 and took down Larry Smith and Rahman Yusubov leading up to his October 30 battle with the 30-year-old Walker out of Kansas City.
