Las Vegas was the setting for a huge fight night of boxing with plenty of great bouts on the undercard to the main event of Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor. Though there was controversy before and after the fight between Gervonta Davis and Francisco Fonseca.
Gervonta Davis, 22, the IBF Junior Lightweight champion prior to the bout, was up against Costa Rican, Francisco Fonseca on the undercard to Mayweather and McGregor and the Costa Rican had the opportunity to take the title from the Southpaw boxer, but not for Davis to retain if he won.
Gervonta Davis and Francisco Fonseca weighed in the day before the fight and unfortunately for Davis, who needed to make the 130lb limit, he was two pounds overweight meaning he had to relinquish his IBF Junior Lightweight title. This meant if Fonseca was victorious, the Costa Rican would become the new champion.
The fight began with Davis on the front foot, looking for head and body shots early, to provide an early knockout, but without prevail.
The second round saw Fonseca step up and land his share of blows to Davis, whilst Davis still looked for the knockout blow to his opponent, finding two uppercuts which got the crowd excited.
Davis then began to attack Fonseca with plenty of uppercuts, while at the same time showboating, a first for Davis. Fonseca though was not shying away from Davis’s antics and in the fourth round, Fonseca managed to land his own combinations, knowing a title could be his at the end of the bout.
The unbeaten Costa Rican began well in the fifth, but Davis was able to turn things around with some heavy shots of his own as the two continued to attempt a winning blow.
Davis was left stunned in the seventh round, bouncing off the ropes after a mean right hook from Fonseca, leaving the Baltimore born boxer slightly stunned.
The eight round saw the end of the fight and a cause for drama as Davis landed a left hand followed with a shot that looked to the back of the head of his opponent, bringing the Costa Rican to his knees, unable to get back up.
Many believe that Gervonta Davis was disrespectful of his opponent when down, as the American knelt besides Fonseca, appearing to mock the Costa Rican. Fans in the T-Mobile Arena began to boo Davis, believing the shot was illegal and once the referee raised his hand, boo’s echoed around the arena once again.
After the fight, Davis said, “I caught him with a body shot before that punch and it hurt him, he took advantage of me swinging and I hit the back of his head and he fell down.”
Davis went on to say, “Me missing the weight was a mistake, I’m young and growing. I apologise for me missing the weight and it won’t happen again. I don’t want to make any excuses, I know I can do more in the sport.”
Gervonta Davis was the better fighter between the two but what do you think of the fashion of victory? Or does that even matter? Give us your thoughts!
