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For nearly all of the first six rounds of his bout with Gervonta “Tank“ Davis, Rolando Romero fought a disciplined fight, using his reach and jab to keep Davis from mounting much offense. However, it only takes one punch from Davis to change a fight, and in Round 6, that punch landed with a thud. Romero opened by using his jab as both a range finder and a deterrent to Davis' attempts to get inside and land his trademark left hands and uppercuts. This strategy was working well for Romero, with Davis circling the ring looking for opportunities rather than controlling the action. Romero also bent the rules, using his elbows repeatedly and throwing Davis to the canvas after landing a clean right hand in the second round. He received several warnings from the referee, though no points were deducted. In the sixth round, Romero seemed to feel the time was right to amp up his attack. As he pursued Davis to the ropes and looked to unleash his wild power punches, Davis calmly countered with a left hand that caught Romero clean. Romero went face-first into the ropes before sliding down to the canvas. Though Romero beat the count and got to his feet, the referee didn't like his response to instructions and waived the fight off, giving Davis another highlight-reel knockout. “The crazy thing is I didn't even throw that hard,“ Davis said of the fight-ending punch, comparing it to Juan Manuel Marquez's one-punch knockout of Manny Pacquiao in 2012. “I just threw it and he ran right into it. Thank God he's good.“ The punch output from both men was lower than many expected. Despite significant trash talk and bad blood ahead of the clash, both fighters were calculated in their approach, with Davis landing 25 total punches to Romero's 22. Attention now turns to Davis' future. The clash with Romero was initially scheduled for last December, but allegations of sexual assault against Romero caused him to pull out, leading Davis to face Isaac Cruz instead. Now, having dispatched his rival, Davis could face big potential fights, such as against Ryan Garcia or the winner of the upcoming undisputed lightweight title fight between George Kambosos Jr. and Devin Haney. Though Davis acknowledged these possibilities, he didn't call out anyone by name. “I'm here, baby, I'm here,“ Davis said. “Whatever they want to do, I'm here, baby. There's no safety on this Glock, you know? There's no safety on this Glock and I've got a lot of ammunition.“ The undercard also featured the return of Erislandy Lara, who took on fellow veteran “Spike“ O'Sullivan. Lara battered the Irishman with his counter-punching attack over eight rounds before the referee stopped the fight. Lara, 39, has now won four in a row and hopes to be a contender in the loaded middleweight division.
