Many people in the boxing world openly questioned whether Gervonta Davis’ power would carry to the 140-pound division. “Tank” answered these questions last Saturday night with a dazzling display of punching power against the much bigger Mario Barrios.
Gervonta Davis’ record is now 25-0 with 24 knockouts. The victory against Barrios makes Davis the WBA regular light-welterweight champion. Davis has also won titles at the 130 and 135-pound weight divisions.
Mario Barrios fought with a warrior’s heart and at times gave Davis all he could handle in the fight. But Gervonta Davis’ power punches eventually took a toll on him.
Davis scored the first knockdown of the fight in the first minute of the eight-round with a looping right hand that sent Barrios to the canvas. Davis only needed a few seconds more to drop Barrios a second time in the fight.
Mario Barrios survived the eighth round and fought back well over the ninth and tenth rounds. Barrios was rallying in the 11th round when Gervonta Davis’ power completely took over the fight.
A nasty left hand to the body sent Barrios to his knees with a little over a minute left in the 11th round. Barrios beat the ten-count, but Davis swarmed him once the action continued. A hard left hand to the jaw knocked Barrios off balance, and referee Thomas Taylor had seen enough. The official stoppage happened at 2:13 of the 11th round.
“I went up two weight classes and got the job done,” a joyful Gervonta “Tank” Davis said immediately following his championship victory. The fight was “tough,” he admitted before adding, “it is what it is.”
Gervonta Davis headlined his second consecutive pay-per-view fight card while fighting against Barrios. His stock as a fighter can only rise after his awesome display against the former champion. It is unclear what weight class Davis will fight at in his next fight. But no one will have questions regarding Gervonta Davis’ punching power.