Davis stays undefeated with TKO of Romero

NEW YORK — Gervonta Davis wasn’t letting his hands go, and Rolando Romero took advantage. He stalked “Tank” Davis and even forced him to hold on at times after he connected with a couple of power shots.

But, as he always does, Davis found a way with his devastating left hand, a counter shot that sent Romero crashing face first on the rope. “Rolly” beat the count on unsteady legs, and the referee stopped the bout, giving Davis yet another brutal TKO victory on Saturday in a career filled with them.

The end came with 21 seconds remaining in Round 6 at a sold-out Barclays Center, allowing Davis to retain his WBA “regular” lightweight title and perhaps move on to a high-stakes showdown with Ryan Garcia, who was ringside.

“He was strong for sure but it was a couple shots that I was getting warmed up and he caught me and I was like, ‘I can’t sit with him just yet,'” said Davis, who was ahead on two scorecards, 49-46 and 48-47, while Romero was ahead on the other, 48-47.

“I know when to take it to my opponents and when to chill out. There was someone in the crowd … and they were telling me to press forward and I was like, ‘Not yet, I got to loosen him up a little more.’ … I’m glad that we didn’t fight the first time because I was so emotional.”

Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) was set to fight Romero in December, but Romero was pulled from the fight after he was accused of sexual assault. Instead, Davis struggled to a decision over Isaac Cruz, his first distance fight since 2014. In the meantime, no charges were filed against Romero, and the heated promotion that started in October kicked back into high gear as the underdog attempted to antagonize Davis.

Shortly after Davis left the ring Saturday night, many fans attempting to depart Barclays Center ran back in toward the arena floor, some even leaping up into the ring in panic due to shots fired near the exit outside the arena. Security held some fans in one area for a time as the situation was addressed. It was unclear in the immediate aftermath whether it was connected to the boxing match.

Source: Read Full Article