One of boxing’s most electric young fighters takes on a long-time rival tonight (Sat., May 28, 2022) inside Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., when Gervonta Davis defends his WBA “world” Lightweight title against fellow unbeaten Rolando Romero.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE coverage of tonight’s main card below. The Showtime pay-per-view (PPV) broadcast will kickoff at 9 p.m. ET, with Davis and Romero likely to make the walk closer to midnight.
The WBA first ordered the fight last year, and the animosity’s only grown since then as the pair traded snipes on social media and throughout the promotional build up. The pair boasts a combined 90 percent knockout rate in 40 fights, so we can expect the in-ring action to be every bit as vitriolic.
The PPV lineup also includes another WBA title fight between Middleweight “world” champion Erislandy Lara and Irish tough guy Spike O’Sullivan, as well as a pair of intriguing battles at 154- and 130-pounds that see Jesus Ramos attempt to avenge uncle Abel’s loss to Luke Santamaria and Eduardo Ramirez trade hands with recent upset artist Luis Melendez.
Davis Vs. Romero Quick Results:
Gervonta Davis vs. Rolando Romero — Davis def. Romero by TKO at 2:39 of Round Six
Erislandy Lara vs. Spike O’Sullivan — Lara def. O’Sullivan by TKO at 0:23 of Round Eight
Jesus Ramos vs. Luke Santamaria — Ramos def. Santamaria by unanimous decision (98-92, 97-93 x2)
Eduardo Ramirez vs. Luis Melendez — Ramirez def. Melendez by majority decision (95-95, 96-94, 98-92)
Davis Vs. Romero Round-By-Round Updates:
135 lbs.: Gervonta Davis vs. Rolando Romero
Round one: Sitting at a distance early. No clean connections after 90 seconds. Romero jabs the body. High-low 1-2 from Davis. Another body shot. Counter right from Romero at the bell. I guess that’s enough to give him the round? Not like much else happened. 10-9 Romero.
Round two: Romero advancing, falling short with punches. Davis looks for the body. Romero does so as well, then tries to open up on the ropes before shoving Davis down as the latter tries to clinch. Romero advancing, staying aggressive. Clinch. Davis not throwing much in return. Clinch. Straight left by Davis, his best shot so far. Clinch. 10-9, 20-18 Romero.
Round three: Romero continuing to push forward. Body jab. Good left hook in combination, straight right after eating an overhand left. Romero really putting on the pressure. He avoids an overhand, tries his own halfway through. Good 2-1 connects. Right to the body. Davis tries a left downstairs and a 1-2. Clinch. Counter right appears to ding Davis. 10-9, 30-27 Romero.
Round four: Romero continuing to chase Davis around the ring. Body shot. Clinch. They trade in the center, neither lands clean. Halfway through. Davis tries a 1-2 downstairs, eats a hard right to the midsection and a straight right upstairs. Davis counter left. 1-2 from Davis, counter right from Romero. Clinch. Davis lead left, Romero jab. Both swing in the center. 10-9, 40-36 Romero. Davis seems to be finding his footing, though.
Round five: Romero prodding with his jab. Davis tries a 1-2 and overhand left. Body shots backing Romero off. Nice straight left upstairs. Another one lands clean. Halfway through; Davis appears to have injured his hand. Clinch. Romero tries a short right. Romero with a late flurry, gets clinched. 10-9 Davis, 49-46 Romero.
Round six: Romero continuing to pursue. Counter left and clinch by Davis. Davis straight left, Romero low blow. Davis to the body. Halfway through. Both miss with right hands. Romero whiffs on a combo. Davis finding success to the body. As Romero tries to press the advantage on the ropes, Davis catches him clean with a vicious counter left that sends him to the mat. Romero manages to beat the count, but the ref doesn’t like what he sees and waves things off.
Final result: Davis def. Romero by TKO
160 lbs.: Erislandy Lara vs. Spike O’Sullivan
Round one: They meet in the center and stand just out of range. High-low 1-2 from Lara. Body shot, flurry upstairs. O’Sullivan tries to attack the body, eats low-high right hooks. More combination work from Lara. Both bang the body. Halfway through. Lara splits the guard with a straight left. Counter left, 1-2. O’Sullivan lands some hooks around the guard on the ropes. Forehead to forehead. Lara body shot and 1-2. 10-9 Lara.
Round two: They trade in the corner. Back to the pocket. Trading hooks inside, straight left from Lara. Clean straight lefts. O’Sullivan meeting him forehead to forehead, lands a left hook downstairs and gets popped with a straight left. O’Sullivan looks to open up in the corner halfway through. Lara slips in a heavy uppercut. O’Sullivan lands some lefts to the body on the ropes. Lara cracks him with another 1-2 in response. 1-2 downstairs, straight left to the head. More body work by O’Sullivan. 10-9, 20-18 Lara.
Round three: O’Sullivan continuing to land body shots as Lara comes back with high-speed combos. Slick straight left on the pivot from Lara. O’Sullivan pressing forward, eats a left downstairs, lands his own. Two-piece upstairs from Lara, two-piece downstairs from O’Sullivan halfway through. Trading in the center. Lara uppercut and 1-2. O’Sullivan targeting the midsection with some success. Clean lefts from Lara. O’Sullivan to the body. 10-9, 30-27 Lara.
Round four: 2-1 from Lara, O’Sullivan body shot. Lara answers to the body. Hard straight left upstairs and 1-2 to the body. 1-2 upstairs. O’Sullivan’s just not doing enough damage in the opportunities he gets. Trying to open up on the ropes. Halfway through. Long stretch of inactivity from Lara, just blocking and absorbing fire. Tight left on the exit. O’Sullivan left hook. Brutal counter left against the ropes from Lara and out go O’Sullivan’s legs. He beats the count but doesn’t look great. 10-8, 40-35 Lara.
Round five: O’Sullivan back to trying to attack on the ropes. Counter two-piece from Lara. Straight left, body shot. Right hook, 1-2, straight left. O’Sullivan continuing to attack the body. Hard straight left comes back at him halfway through. Lara counter left. Right hook and 1-2 sting O’Sullivan. 3-2, lead left. O’Sullivan’s still trying. Trying to work on the ropes. Lara handily weathering it so far, cracks him with a 1-2. Heavy shots in center ring. He knocks O’Sullivan back in the waning seconds, absorbs a left hook. 10-9, 50-44 Lara.
Round six: Back to where we’ve spent most of the fight: O’Sullivan throwing body shots against the ropes as Lara waits for his openings to counter. There’s a left from Lara. O’Sullivan continuing to attack the body. He’s got volume, if nothing else. Hard uppercut from Lara, then a right hook that buzzes O’Sullivan again. Halfway through. O’Sullivan lands a left hook downstairs in return, walks into a 1-2. Hard lead left by Lara. Solid body shot by O’Sullivan. Lara body shots, absorbs combos from O’Sullivan. Straight left, body shot, right hook by Lara. 10-9, 60-53 Lara.
Round seven: We return to the usual spot. More of the same: O’Sullivan active but ineffective, Lara sporadic but damaging. Decent jab from O’Sullivan. Right to the body in center ring. Halfway through. Lara with a long left downstairs. O’Sullivan working inside. I was about to say that Lara gave the round away through inactivity, but Lara cracks him with two straight lefts in the final seconds that discombobulate him. 10-9, 70-62 Lara.
Round eight: They pause to examine O’Sullivan to start the round, but elect to let him continue. Another straight left and O’Sullivan wobbles back, prompting the ref to intervene.
Final result: Lara def. O’Sullivan by TKO
154 lbs.: Jesus Ramos vs. Luke Santamaria
Round one: Ramos looking like the much bigger man. Slowly advancing, pawing with his jab. Santamaria looking to circle. Ramos body shot on the ropes. Halfway through. Santamaria tries a body shot and counter jab. Ramos continuing to work behind the jab. Double right from Santamaria. Body shot after eating jabs. Both men dig to the body in the corner. Ramos 1-2 on the ropes. 10-9 Ramos.
Round two: Santamaria potshotting off the back foot. Counter 3-2 from Ramos. Continuing to advance. Lead left through the guard. Santamaria lands a left hook and uppercut. They trade lefts. Low-high 1-2 from Ramos, then again. Both fire their power hands. Santamaria to the body. Halfway through. Santamaria body shot, Ramos jab. Ramos jabs the body. Santamaria overhand right, then a double right cross. Counter right hook from Ramos, Santamaria answers to the body. Hard straight left by Ramos. Santamaria’s moving well and getting in his licks but he just can’t put a dent in Ramos. 10-9, 20-18 Ramos.
Round three: Ramos backs him to the corner and lets loose a volley. Solid low-high flurry from Santamaria. Ramos continuing to work behind the jab and land thudding shots amid the rapid-fire work from Santamaria. Halfway through. Low-high 1-2 and body shots by Ramos. Again, it’s just the power issue. Santamaria’s landing a lot but nothing’s affecting Ramos. Hard body shots from Ramos and a straight left upstairs. Ramos looking aggressive in the last minute as Santamaria continues to target the midsection. 10-9, 30-27 Ramos.
Round four: Ramos keeping Santamaria on the ropes. Tight right hook. Prodding with the jab. Ramos still doing the more impactful work. Quick exchange near the ropes. Halfway through. Technical difficulties. Ramos finding the mark with straight shots. Santamaria still moving well but not getting his licks in like before. He tries to open up late and Ramos waves him on. 10-9, 40-36 Ramos.
Round five: Good work from Santamaria with his back against the ropes. Ramos continuing to press forward and cut off the ring. Body shot in the corner. Some good footwork by Santamaria. Clinch. Double right. Halfway through. Both whiff on hooks. Ramos falls short with a 1-2. They exchange in the corner. Ramos to the body. Straight left in the corner. Picking up the pace later in the round. Combo by Santamaria. He avoids some late flurries and lands a straight left. 10-9 Santamaria, 49-46 Ramos.
Round six: Ramos not having as much success pinning Santamaria as before. There’s a straight left in the corner. Cross from Santamaria in return. Combination met by a Ramos right hook. Clinch. They trade in the center, favoring Santamaria. Ramos to the body halfway through. 1-1-2, body shot, right hook after both fire combos. Santamaria 1-2. Ramos continuing to dig lefts to the body. Shoeshine inside, left cross and 1-2. They exchange in the center. 10-9, 59-55 Ramos.
Round seven: Good shots form Ramos in the corner. Santamaria starting to try and trade with him inside; he’s connecting, just not well enough. Things slow down for a bit. Halfway through. Ramos advancing, neither committing to much. Ramos backs him to the corner, lands a good left hand after Santamaria attacks his body. Ramos right hook. Low-high left hands. Santamaria lead right. Ramos check hook and chopping left. Clinch. 10-9, 69-64 Ramos.
Round eight: Quick exchange about 30 seconds in. Clinch in the corner. Santamaria lands a counter hook as Ramos attacks the body. Hard straight left by Ramos halfway through. Right hook on the counter. 1-2, clinch. Clinch. Glancing cross by Ramos as Santamaria tries to push forward. Long flurry from Santamaria. 10-9, 79-73 Ramos.
Round nine: Exchanges at close range. Really favoring Ramos at this point. Halfway through. Santamaria hits the body, eats a straight left. Ramos keeping him on the back foot but neither man landing big shots at the moment. There’s a left hook by Santamaria, who eats body shots in return. Both bang the body as they move off the ropes. There’s some good exchanges in the waning seconds. 10-9, 89-82 Ramos.
Round ten: Same story, honestly. Ramos marching forward, Santamaria sneaking in the occasional shot that Ramos undoes with body work. Halfway through. There’s a solid right from Santamaria. Ramos tries to open up in the corner. Both try to flurry inside. They trade on the ropes. A final exchange in center ring. 10-9, 99-91 Ramos.
Final result: Ramos def. Santamaria by unanimous decision
130 lbs.: Eduardo Ramirez vs. Luis Melendez
Round one: Both men pawing with their lead hands. Counter right from Ramirez. Overhand left, 1-2. Melendez jabbing, falling short, eats a lead left. Halfway through. Ramirez misses badly on a body shot. Melendez lands a right downstairs. Clean jab. Ramirez tries body shots. Left connects. Jab from Melendez in return. Quick exchange at the bell, left hook by Melendez. 10-9 Ramirez.
Round two: Solid combo from Melendez in the early going. Ramirez looking a bit too patient, eats a right downstairs. Melendez check hook and uppercut. 1-2 from Ramirez in return. Ramirez falls short with a 1-2, avoids a pair of straight rights halfway through. Clinch. Melendez lead right again. Ramirez to the body, eats a right cross in return. Melendez tries a combination on the ropes. Clinch. 10-9 Melendez, 19-19.
Round three: Solid counter uppercut from Melendez, who follows up with a volley. Clinch. Ramirez lead left, Melendez left hand. Melendez body shot. Ramirez trying to potshot with 1s and 2s. Melendez body shot, clinch, body shot. Uppercut and body shot from Ramirez in return. Melendez cracks him with another uppercut. Halfway through. Ramirez 3-2 and 2-1, trying to dig away inside. They trade lefts and Melendez lands another clean uppercut. Nice counter right. Ramirez fires a lengthy sequence on the ropes and makes some solid connections. Lead left. Melendez doubles up the lead right and absorbs a flurry. 10-9, 29-28 Melendez.
Round four: Brutal shots from Melendez in the pocket. Ramirez laughs them off, but eats a heavy hook while trying to bully his way in. Melendez warned for a low blow. Ramirez straight left, Melendez uppercut. Ramirez trying to bully him on the ropes. Clinch. Nice body shots. Clean uppercut, eats a left hook. Halfway through. Ramirez with a left downstairs, Melendez with one upstairs. More success from Ramirez now, gets backed off by a combo. Straight lefts from Ramirez. Heavy right hook in combination. Melendez pops him with a couple of jabs and a left hook upstairs. Ramirez stalking and they trade. 10-9 Ramirez, 38-38.
Round five: Inside work from both men. Solid work on each side. Nice uppercut from Melendez. Both land good hooks. Double hook by Melendez. Ramirez rips the body and they trade on the ropes halfway through. Ramirez doubles the lefts and digs away at the body. Liver shot from Melendez in return. Ramirez continuing to advance, tees off in the corner. Melendez backs him off with a straight right. 10-9, 48-47 Ramirez.
Round six: Good early work from Melendez. Clinch. Stiff jab. Ramirez looks for the body in return. Melendez digs a liver shot as Ramirez fires in the pocket. Melendez warned again for low blows. Clinch. Ramirez with a heavy four-piece and they trade in center ring. Halfway through. More short work from Ramirez. Melendez firing jabs, follows up with a clean right. Ramirez focusing on forehead-to-forehead work. Wild swings from Ramirez. Melendez cracks him with a late right. 10-9, 58-56 Ramirez.
Round seven: Early clinch. Double left by Ramirez, continuing to advance. Solid overhand left in the corner. Stiff jab from Melendez. Ramirez body shots. Ramping up the volume inside. Halfway through. Melendez trying to back him off with counters but this is Ramirez’s best round in a while. Melendez flurry. Sneaky right. Good head movement on the ropes. Double right. Good left, double right. Still thing the early work was Ramirez’s. 10-9, 68-65 Ramirez.
Round eight: Lead rights from Melendez. Ramirez to the body. Both land good lefts. Lengthy flurry from Melendez. Counter uppercut in the corner. Ramirez tattoos the body in response. Good lead left upstairs and a heavy right hook behind it. Ramirez answers a counter uppercut with a flurry. Halfway through. Melendez double right and jabs as he circles. Ramirez trying to work in the corner, lands a straight left. Jab exchange. Long 1-2 by Ramirez lands clean. Melendez with a right downstairs. 10-9, 78-74 Ramirez.
Round nine: Ramirez continuing to advance as Melendez tries to play slickster. Counter 1-2 and jabs from Melendez. Counter uppercut after eating a lead left. Trading in the pocket, favoring Melendez. Sneaky right hand and check hook. Good right cross halfway through. Ramirez looks to work in the corner, absorbs a pair of hooks. Continuing to trade forehead to forehead. Melendez seemingly getting the better of it. Ramirez flurry answered in kind. Sneaky Melendez uppercut. Moving well. Ramirez looking for the body, ends the round with a combo. 10-9 Melendez. 87-84 Ramirez.
Round ten: Hard shots from both right off the bat. Trading at close range. Ramirez bullying his way forward, working on the ropes. Melendez counter uppercut, Ramirez lands a series of body shots and a clean straight left upstairs. Hard right hooks land clean halfway through. Clinch. Ramirez tries to flurry, clinch. Lead left. Melendez check hook lands clean, as does a darting right soon after. Ramirez digging to the body on the ropes, gets backed off by a combo. Wild exchange in the final seconds. 10-9, 97-93 Ramirez. Think he took it, but there were like five-six swing rounds.
Final result: Ramirez def. Melendez by majority decision
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