LOS ANGELES – Gervonta Davis apparently has learned how to make weight more comfortably over the past couple years.

The undefeated knockout artist hasn’t grasped, though, how to avoid putting his hands on his opponent at a weigh-in. Davis shoved Isaac Cruz following a lengthy staring contest once they both made weight Saturday afternoon for their 12-round lightweight title fight Sunday night.

Davis, 27, and Cruz, 23, were quickly separated after Davis used two hands to push Cruz away from him on a stage at JW Marriott LA Live. Cruz didn't initiate contact with Davis once Davis turned away and stepped in front of Cruz to flex his muscles and take pictures for assembled photographers in front of the stage.

Moments earlier, Baltimore’s Davis weighed in at 134½ pounds for their 135-pound fight for Davis’ secondary WBA lightweight title. Cruz came in slightly lighter, at 134¼ pounds.

Most credible sports books list Davis (25-0, 24 KOs) as at least a 12-1 favorite over Cruz (22-1-1, 15 KOs), the WBA’s eighth-ranked contender for his championship. Cruz replaced Davis’ rival, Rolando Romero, five weeks ago in this Showtime Pay-Per-View main event because a woman with whom Romero was once acquainted accused him late in October of sexually assaulting her in the fall of 2019.

Davis, who notoriously struggled to make weight properly earlier in his career, has met his contractual obligation the first time he stepped on a scale for each of his past three fights.

The last time Davis had difficulty making weight, he also shoved Yuriorkis Gamboa, which ignited a brawl on stage at Compound, a nightclub in Atlanta, in December 2019.

Davis initially weighed 136¼ pounds, then a career high, the first time he attempted to weigh in for their 135-pound championship match. He came back to the Georgia Athletic & Entertainment Commission’s scale well over two hours later and officially weighed in at 134½ pounds.

The left-handed Davis dropped Gamboa three times the next night and stopped the aged Cuban in the 12th round to win the WBA world lightweight title at State Farm Arena.

The official weights for the televised portion of the Davis-Cruz undercard are listed below.

Showtime Pay-Per-View; 8 p.m. EDT; 5 p.m. PDT ($74.99)

Sebastian Fundora (17-0-1, 12 KOs), Coachella, California, 153¼ pounds vs. Sergio Garcia (33-0, 15 KOs), Torrelavega, Spain, 153½ pounds, 12 rounds, WBC super welterweight elimination match.

Sergiy Derevyanchenko (13-3, 10 KOs), Ukraine, 159½ pounds vs. Carlos Adames (20-1, 16 KOs), Comendador, Dominican Republic, 159½ pounds, 10 rounds, middleweights.

Eduardo Ramirez (25-2-3, 12 KOs), Los Mochis, Mexico, 129½ pounds vs. Miguel Marriaga (30-4, 26 KOs), Arjona, Colombia, 129½ pounds, 10 rounds, junior lightweights.

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