By Cameron Buford | Whatsgoodinsports.com
Explosively, Gervonta “Tank” Davis knocked out Rolando “Rolly” Romero in the sixth round of his fifth defense of his WBA Lightweight Title this past weekend in New York. Nearly 19,000 fans of avid boxing fans poured into Brooklyn’s Barclay’s Center on Saturday night to see if the boisterous Rolly can end the reign of undefeated Tank Davis, who is also the apparent prince of boxing.
The Baltimore native Davis (26-0) put his WBA Lightweight Championship on the line against unbeaten No. 1 ranked contender and mandatory challenger (14-0) Rolando “Rolly” Romero. Initially scheduled for December in Los Angeles, unsubstantiated allegations against Romero forced this fight to be postponed.
“When you talk about the young stars of boxing, ‘Tank’ is in a class by himself. There isn’t another young fighter in the sport who generates the buzz and excitement that ‘Tank’ does,” Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza says about Davis who’s sold out venues in Los Angeles, Baltimore, Atlanta, and now Brooklyn. About Romero Espinoza said in the pre-fight press conference, “You can call him awkward or unorthodox, you can say anything you want. One thing you can’t argue with is ‘Rolly’s’ power. That’s what has everybody so intrigued.”
“I’m going to go in there and hit him with one punch, and we’re going to be done,”the undefeated Romero exclaimed in their final press conference days before the fight. “I’m not going to say what punch I’m getting him with, but you’re all going to see on Saturday night. This is ending in one round.”
“We’ve been working hard in camp and we know that ‘Rolly’ is going to come out in round one and try to knock me out like he said. I’ll be ready for that,” Tank responded during his final time speaking to the media before their fight. “I just want to show people that there are different levels when it comes to boxing. It’s time to show that I’m one of the guys who’s not to be played with.”
As the first bell of this long-awaited grudge match rang out through the arena, Davis avoided the open round knock-out that Romero predicted, and he had some choice words for Romero at the end of the round. They ended up splitting the early rounds of the fight, to the surprise of many. However, Romero established himself as the aggressor and forced the action while Davis played the counter puncher, seemingly luring Romero into his range.
The fourth round was the best round of the fight, as they both exchanged heavy power shots that round. Romero effectively utilized his length to keep his distance and Tank off balance. While Davis sat back and waited to pot-shot Romero, using his superior quickness and power to win the rounds late.
The referee did warn Romero about using his elbows early in the fifth round yet still controlled that round. Davis was seen strangely grimacing after throwing a punch, which appeared to injure his left hand. He would later say that wasn’t the case.
Even though Davis landed only three punches in the final sixth round, he ended the fight with a counter punch that boxing fans won’t soon forget. This knock-out highlights Davis’ ring IQ and his ability to adjust quickly to what his opponent is doing in the ring. Romero was seemingly in control of the round and pressing the action, yet Davis set his trap once Romero pushed him to the ropes. Just as Romero lunged to throw a right hook to the body, Davis caught Romero with a devastating left hook on his chin.
That majestic counter punch instantly ended this WBA Lightweight title fight and simultaneously gave his legions of fans what they came out to see. In fact, this fight became the most attended and highest grossing boxing event in the young history of the Barclay’s Center.
“I was figuring him out through the rounds. That was my main goal, to make him chase me around a bit, start picking shot and going to the body,” Tank revealed in his post-fight press conference. “The shot I threw wasn’t my hardest punch, I just right on the money, I caught him coming in.”
By looking deeper into the Compu Box statistics, it’s easy to see that Romero actually frustrated Davis in the fight. Davis typically lands 47.7% of his power punches against Romero Davis landed only landed 34% of his power punches. Additionally, Davis averaged 14 punches thrown per round against Romero, which is well below his prior average of 36.6 punches thrown per round.
“I want the fight again,” a still confident Romero said about a rematch after the fight. “I exposed him and won every single round. I jumped into something and ate a stupid shot.”
“He (Romero) was winning every round until he lunged in,” said former lightweight world champion Teofimo Lopez supporting Romero’s version of the fight.Yet, unified welterweight champion, and man of few words, Errol Spence Jr. summed the fight up by saying, “It was close, til Tank caught his ass.”
Boxing fans should enjoy seeing Tank’s career play out and see who can or will challenge the apparent prince of boxing. Viable contenders for his crown could be three-division former unified lightweight world champion, Ukrainian, Vasiliy Lomachenko, or maybe former unified lightweight world champion Teofimo Lopez, or even the Sydney, New South Wales native George Kambosos Jr., who is the current lightweight unified champion.
Who would you like to see Gervonta “Tank” Davis fight next, or who do you think would be the bigger challenge for him? Let know what you think about Gervonta “Tank” Davis or the current state of boxing by reaching out to me on Twitter @whatsgoodnsport or email me at voiceofthefans@outlook.com.
