On Saturday night May 28 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Gervonta “Tank” Davis stepped into the ring to defend his WBA lightweight “regular” title against the hard-hitting challenger Rolando “Rolly” Romero. Davis, a highly-skilled boxer with immense punching power, has built a large fan base due to his impressive knockout percentage. Coming into the fight, Davis knocked out twenty-four of the twenty-six opponents he has faced in the ring. His ability to deliver the spectacular knockout presented him the opportunity to become boxing’s most recent pay-per-view star. In front of a sell-out crowd of 18,970, Tank connected with a counter left in the sixth round that sent Rolly stumbling into the ropes. The referee noticed Romero standing on wobbly legs as he proceeded to wisely stop the fight. Rolly suffered the first loss of his career, and Tank added another highlight-reel style knockout victory to his resume.
Davis and Romero had a dislike for each other since 2017 due to the fact that Romero accused Davis of skipping out on two scheduled sparring sessions. In addition to the sparring sessions, Romero also accused Davis of shoving him at the Errol Spence vs Mikey Garcia bout in 2019. The bad blood between the two combatants was painfully obvious throughout the promotion of the fight. During the course of each and every press conference, Davis and Romero went blow for blow as they traded profanity-laced insults. The fireworks continued at the weigh-in when Romero stepped in front of Davis to strike a pose. As Romero flexed for the crowd, Davis gave him a subtle push. The nudge caused Romero to fall off the stage. After landing on his feet, Rolly charged forward trying to get at Tank. The fighters were separated as the promotional part of the event finally came to an end.
On the night of the fight, Rolando Romero entered the ring looking nervous, but he was able to settle down once the bell rang. Romero used a range-finding jab as his main weapon during the course of the first round. He finished the round by landing a solid right hand. Romero was fairly cautious through the first five rounds as Davis circled around the ring in an attempt to lure Romero into a trap. Rolly took the bait late in the sixth round when he lunged forward to deliver a body shot. As he attempted to execute the body-head three-punch combo, Davis delivered a sharp left hook counter that abruptly ended Romero’s night.
As a result of the scintillating knockout, Gervonta Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) once again demonstrated why he is a box office attraction. Rolando Romero (14-1, 12 KOs) suffered his first career loss, but he may leave the situation with a gratifying moral victory. Prior to the TKO, Romero was delivering a strong performance against a next-level type of boxer. What he showed in the first five rounds may be enough for him to attract future main event type of bouts against well-known opponents in the 135-pound division.
For Gervonta Davis, the time has come for him to step on the gas pedal. He’s a next-level boxer, who needs to face next-level opponents. There is no doubt in regards to Davis being a well-known boxing star.
He just wrapped up his fourth pay-per-view fight, and he has been able to routinely perform live in front of large crowds in different regions of the country. Davis has accumulated impressive ticket sales at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland, the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, and the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Gervonta Davis is without a doubt a bonafide boxing star, but now he must show he is ‘the’ star of the 135-pound division.
Davis has been victorious against solid competition, but the boxing fans are ready for him to test the waters against the elite boxers at 135. George Kambosos Jr. and Devin Haney are set to meet on June 5 for the unified lightweight title. If Kambosos wins, Davis should be eligible to immediately challenge for the crown. If Haney wins, Davis may have to wait for his unification title shot due to the fact that Kambosos in all likelihood will invoke the rematch clause. If that is the case, Davis could go in another direction and give the fans the most appealing matchup for him in the lightweight division. For years fans have been anticipating a clash between Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia. Maybe now is the time for the two boxing stars to sign the contract and meet in the center of the ring.
Another possible big-name opponent is 130-pound champ Shakur Stevenson. After defeating Oscar Valdez and unifying the WBC and WBO Super Featherweight Championships, Stevenson may have a goal for himself to unify all of the belts in the division. However, it would serve him better to move up, and take a lucrative fight with Davis as opposed to fighting the 130-pound IBF champion Kenichi Ogawa, or the WBA champion Roger Gutierrez.
A bout between Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson would be a crowd-pleaser. Both men are highly skilled boxers who are in the prime of their respective careers. Davis has the advantage in regards to punching power, and Stevenson may hold a slight advantage in the category of boxing technician.
If Davis is willing to go the rematch route, a second bout against Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz is the obvious return match the fans want to see. Despite taking the fight on short notice, Cruz proved to be a worthy opponent as he went the distance and lost by a twelve-round unanimous decision. A rematch between Davis and Cruz is very intriguing. For starters, Cruz has proven himself to be Davis’s toughest opposition to date, and on top of that, it would be very riveting to see how Cruz would fair against Davis as he would get the benefit of a full training camp.
If Davis was looking for a promising up-and-comer as a future opponent, Michel Rivera may be the perfect candidate. Rivera has verbalized his desire for a match between himself and Davis. This matchup has the potential to be a good one, but it may be too soon for Rivera to challenge a boxer the caliber of Davis.
Outside of the 135-pound division, after watching Davis defeat his friend Rolando Romero, Teofimo Lopez is motivated to face Gervonta Davis at 140. Lopez was known as one of the elite at 135, but apparently he has outgrown the division. Lopez will attempt to revamp his career at 140, and he would love to start the journey with a match against Davis.
Gervonta “Tank” Davis is the A-side of the lightweight division. He has full control in regards to choosing whatever option he feels is beneficial for him and his career. When it comes to taking a step up and facing an elite-level opponent, he could go in a multitude of directions. Gervonta Davis has had a great start to his boxing career, but the best may be yet to come. The next chapter of Davis’s boxing career has the potential to produce a lot of excitement and generate a significant amount of revenue.