LOS ANGELES – The availability of Staples Center was an issue when Gervonta Davis’ handlers sought a site for his upcoming fight.

The undefeated Davis initially was supposed to face lightweight rival Rolando Romero on a Saturday night, but Staples Center was booked Saturday night for a high school basketball showcase event that featured LeBron James’ son, Bronny James, a junior guard for Sierra Canyon School. Floyd Mayweather, whose company promotes Davis, and his CEO, Leonard Ellerbe, still wanted to bring Davis back to the Los Angeles area, where Baltimore’s Davis helped sell out Dignity Health Sports Park – a smaller, outdoor venue in nearby Carson – for a first-round knockout of Hugo Ruiz in February 2019.

Once they realized Staples Center was booked Saturday night, they decided to offer a four-fight Showtime Pay-Per-View event on Sunday night. Mexico City’s Isaac Cruz replaced Romero five weeks ago because a woman with whom Romero once was acquainted accused him late in October of sexually assaulting her in the fall of 2019.

“Boxing is entertainment,” Ellerbe told BoxingScene.com. “We’re in the entertainment industry. And the biggest things happen on Sunday evenings. Why not? And that was sorta the mindset when we did the thing in June with Floyd, so we’re gonna roll the dice here.”

Most high-profile boxing events occur on Saturday nights in the United States, but Mayweather himself succeeded commercially earlier this year when he headlined a Showtime Pay-Per-View card against Logan Paul in an eight-round cruiserweight exhibition June 6 at the Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Mayweather-Paul produced slightly more than 1.1 million buys, despite that Paul is a novice and Mayweather, while 44 and essentially retired, is the one of the best boxers in the history of the sport.

Jake Paul, Logan’s younger brother, later fought former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley on a Sunday night, August 30 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. Paul-Woodley didn’t generate nearly as many pay-per-view buys as Mayweather-Paul, yet that Showtime event still was considered a financial success.

Ellerbe is certain that the Davis-Cruz show will resonate with consumers. This four-fight telecast, which costs $74.99, will start an hour earlier than usual, 8 p.m. ET and 5 p.m. PT, because it’ll take place on a Sunday night.

“When you look at every awards show, when does it happen? Sunday night,” Ellerbe said. “Because it’s like family time. People are winding down. And this is something different. Tank’s a recognizable name that hasn’t crossed over all the way, but we’re working little by little to get to where we’re trying to get to.”

The most noteworthy sports competition Davis (25-0, 24 KOs) and Cruz (22-1-1, 15 KOs) will encounter Sunday night is NBC’s NFL telecast, Denver at Kansas City, which will air at the same time as Showtime’s four-fight broadcast.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.