Gervonta Davis settled his grudge with Rolando Romero knocking out his American rival in the sixth round of their world title showdown in Brooklyn on Saturday.
Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) detonated a devastating left hand on Romero (14-1, 12 KOs), who crashed face-first onto the ropes and was waved off by referee David Fields, as he made the count on unsteady legs.
‘Tank’ recorded a 27th straight victory and retained his WBA ‘regular’ lightweight title with a 25th stoppage, whilst ‘Rolly’ suffered a first professional defeat.
Romero, a sizeable betting underdog heading into the clash, had been vocal throughout the build-up and vowed a shock first round win, however his prediction went up in smoke after a cagey opener, a stark contrast to what most inside Barclays Center had anticipated.
The challenger, undefeated heading into his maiden world title fight, upped the ante in the second, with a right hand just missing the champion, who was thrown to the canvas as Romero looked to assert himself.
The many angles of @Gervontaa devastating KO 😳#DavisRomero pic.twitter.com/1Ewaw7giLP
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) May 29, 2022
Davis edged the second, however jolting his rival’s head back with a hard left hand in the most notable action.
The pair opened up with more ferocity in the third and fourth rounds, with Romero connecting with some accurate combinations, although ‘Tank’ responded to the attacks with counter punches of his own.
Davis landed with multiple left hands in the fifth, but appeared to suggest he was hurt after yelling in pain following an exchange. The Las Vegas man looked to capitalise, but found little success as the round drew to a close.
Referee David Fields warned Romero in the sixth following a low blow, however his night came to an abrupt end shortly afterwards.
As the 26-year-old challenger looked to back up Davis on the ropes, the Baltimore man uncorked a pinpoint left hook, which dropped ‘Rolly’ into the ropes and onto the canvas.
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After bravely rising to his feet, the referee deemed him in no position to continue prompting Davis to begin his celebrations on the top rope.
Despite briefly celebrating in front of his rival, Davis, who confirmed earlier this week that his contract with Mayweather Promotions is up following this fight, showed respect.
“I want to thank Rolly,” Davis told SHOWTIME post-fight.
“I want to thank his team. We settled it like a man inside the ring and I wish him the best in the future.”
The 27-year-old three-weight world champion did not call out any fighters in his post-fight interview, but could feasibly face the winner of next Saturday’s undisputed lightweight title clash between George Kambosos Jr and Devin Haney or Ryan Garcia.
Lara stops O’Sullivan
Erislandy Lara (29-3-3, 17 KOs) dropped and stopped Gary O’Sullivan in the seventh round of a one-sided beatdown to retain his WBA ‘regular’ middleweight title.
Lara, 39, displayed his superior skillset throughout and floored the brave, yet outmatched O’Sullivan (31-5, 21 KOs) in the fourth round.
FIGHT’S OVER 💥@Laraboxing stops O’Sullivan in round 8 to retain his WBA middleweight title 🏆#LaraOSullivan #DavisRomero pic.twitter.com/0c8u5KasrI
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) May 29, 2022
The Irishman battled back without much success and a straight left hand had him wobbled in the eighth, before referee Benjy Esteves Jr called a halt to the sustained punishment.
Remaining Undercard
Jesus Ramos (19-0, 15 KOs) continued his undefeated streak with a unanimous decision win over Luke Santamaria (13-3-1, 7 KOs), with two identical scores of 97-93 and another at 98-92.
Former world title challenger, Eduardo Ramirez (27-2-3, 12 KOs) secured his sixth successive win with a majority decision over Luis Melendez (17-2, 13 KOs).
Two scores of 98-92 and 96-94 overruled a 95-95 card.
.@ramos_jesus9 continues to put the super welterweight division on notice 😤
The rising prospect scores a UD win over Santamaría to stay unbeaten.#RamosSantamaria #DavisRomero pic.twitter.com/x8EZqYLzDQ
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) May 29, 2022
Super welterweight, Luis Arias bounced back from defeat to Vaughn Alexander last time out with a dominant unanimous decision victory over Jimmy Williams (18-8-2, 6 KOs).
All three judges scored the bout 99-91 in favour of Arias (20-3-1, 9 KOs).
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Welterweight prospect, Jalil Major Hackett (4-0, 3 KOs) continued his progression with a second round stoppage over Jose Belloso (4-1, 4 KOs), who was unbeaten heading into the contest.
