Gervonta Davis holds off Isaac Cruz despite hand injury for 1st decision win in 7 years

Gervonta Davis might have defeated Isaac Cruz, but there was at least one upset in the ring Sunday night. It was the judges filling their whole scorecard.

Davis, the undefeated knockout artist who could soon be boxing's next big thing, defeated the challenger Cruz by unanimous decision — 116-112, 115-113, 115-113 — at Staples Center, his first fight to go the distance since October 2014. And even that fight was only six rounds.

Cruz, who took his first professional loss, didn't even know he would get the opportunity to give Davis the toughest fight of his career until about a month out, when Davis' scheduled opponent Rolando Romero was pulled after being accused of sexual assault.

It didn't take long for Cruz to show he was more than just a replacement fighter, as he went aggressive in the first round and seemed to take the point. Considering nearly a third of Davis' fights haven't left the first round, that in itself was a victory.

Gervonta Davis says left hand was likely hurt in 6th round

Davis seemed to take control over the ensuing rounds, but at some point, he injured his left hand and found himself boxing a real opponent with half his arsenal.

"I hurt my left hand in probably like the sixth round, but I got through it," Davis said after the fight. "It's shaking but it is what it, that's part of the sport."

When asked if the hand was broken, Davis said he wasn't sure.

Cruz put on a strong showing in the later rounds, but not enough to change the outcome. Davis might have been limited offensively, but he draws comparisons to Floyd Mayweather Jr. for reasons beyond their mentorship, and he landed more than enough rights to avoid the upset. Showtime's boxing stats had the pair basically even on power punches, 113-112, though Davis landed more clean hits at a more accurate clip.

Still, it wasn't the finish many were expecting. Davis had been -1200 favorite going into the fight with BetMGM, but him winning by decision was a +500 outcome.

Gervonta Davis keeps fighting on Twitter

With the win, it seems well past time for Davis, currently the WBA (Regular) lightweight champ, to face some top competition for his next fight. Asked about the prospect of facing fighters such as lightweight titleholders George Kambosos Jr. and Devin Haney, he called them "easy work."

That drew some attention from another top lightweight, Ryan Garcia, who had plenty to say about Davis' resume or lack thereof:

Garcia's promoter Oscar De La Hoya soon got in on the trash talk, drawing a response from Davis:

And Davis' answer about a potential rematch with Cruz?

"Hell no."