Davis vs. Romero: Full Fight Breakdown
AND STILL. Gervonta Davis returned to the ring for the first time this year through a picture-perfect and trademark KO victory. A no-doubt satisfying KO for Gervonta after weeks of pre-fight antics that were filled by the trash talk of Rolando mixed with tense staredowns and theatrical falls of stages.
Despite Rolando's supposedly ‘awkward’ style and a few brief moments of adversity in the early rounds, Gervonta illustrated he possesses the patience and composure to find the knockout consistently. Here’s our fight breakdown of Davis vs. Romero.
THE FIGHT
The opening seconds of the fight were the most telling. The risk of each fighter rushing in for a shot given the pre-fight drama could easily make them vulnerable to the counter of the other. Gervonta made sure to start patient, biding his time and holding a strong guard. Gervonta didn’t fall to the mind tricks that a dramatic trash talker aims to bring out of his opponents. It was clear very quickly that Rolando’s plan to “KO him with the first punch he throws” was misguided. He avoided any rush or reckless movement. His confidence in his power is clear. To him, it’s only a matter of time before he lands it.
The jab of Rolando was a factor throughout the fight, an obvious attempt to hold his naturally smaller opponent at bay in order to work his own power shots into play. Moreover, a strong jab could hold Gervonta off from coming in too close where he would be the most dangerous in landing a KO shot.
A critical element throughout the fight was also the effective backpedal of Gervonta. As Gervonta remained patient picking his shots carefully he was dealing with the forward work rate of Rolando. A perfect style for Gervonta who possesses lightning-fast counter reflexes and could quickly jump to react to the forward pressure of Rolando.
THE KNOCKOUT
What seems like just a matter of time, in round 6 as Rolando continued with his forward movement, Gervonta delivers a perfect overhand left from the ropes. The southpaw killer left hand. There is an attempt by Rolando to recover, but his equilibrium is gone. The ref stops the fight.
It was a signature display by Gervonta who maintains his demeanor as one of the biggest stars in boxing today and a KO artist. Gervonta can knock you out at any point in the fight. While Rolando has been somewhat humbled it wasn’t long until he was calling for a rematch at the post-fight press conference. When Gervonta was asked what his thoughts are about running it back, unfazed and unsurprisingly, he simply chuckles.
Header image: Ryan Hafey / Premier Boxing Champions