Well, that was weird.
Gervonta Davis did what most people expected him to do Saturday night in Atlanta, which was to knock out Yuriorkis Gamboa. No one could’ve predicted how he would arrive at that point, though.
The peculiarities started in Round 2, when Gamboa went down from a hard left hand and then complained after the round that he had injured his right foot when fell. “I can’t go! I can’t go! he said emphatically, according to a translator, yet he continued.
Gamboa said after the fight that he ruptured his Achilles heal, although that wasn’t confirmed.
So let’s take stock right here: Davis is fighting a 38-year-old who is well past his prime and has some sort of injury that makes it difficult for him to maneuver. Easy knock out, right?
Uhhhh, no. First of all, Gamboa was in survival mode almost the entire fight. A veteran who wants to survive is difficult to stop. And second, Davis was strangly inactive. He landed more than enough power shots to win the fight – and put Gamboa down three times – but he allowed Gamboa to stick around by being relatively passive.
Davis threw only 321 punches in 11-plus rounds, according to CompuBox. That equates to a sluggish performance.
Poor conditioning? The rising young star missed weight Friday afternoon even though he was fighting for the first time as a full-fledged lightweight, which raises questions about his preparation for this fight — disturbing questions.
In the end, Davis (23-0, 22 KOs) won almost every round, put Gamboa (30-3, 18 KOs) down in Rounds 2, 8 and 12 and got his stoppage when a huge left uppercut put Gamboa on his pants and convinced referee Jack Reiss that enough was enough.
Still, it wasn’t Davis’ greatest night. He admitted it afterward, saying “I believe my performance was a C+.”
“Coming into this fight I knew Gamboa would be a tough opponent,” Davis said. “Everybody wrote him off but I knew he was a veteran. As you could see in the ring I was catching him and hurting him but he was still alert. I knew he was different from any opponent I fought before.”
The knockdown in the second round was hardly surprising given Davis’ reputation. What followed had everyone confused.
In the corner, between the second and third rounds, it wasn’t clear whether Gamboa had a problem with his body or his shoe. It was only obvious that he began favoring the right leg after he went down.
The one-time Cuban amateur star, an Olympic gold medalist in 2004, moved about the ring as best he could — and it wasn’t pretty — and often held Davis when he got close enough to land punches in the next few rounds.
After the fourth round, one of his cornerman wrapped tape around the foot to give it some stability and that seemed to help to some extent. Gamboa moved a little better and, while still in survival mode and looking about 10 years older than 38, he even gave Davis trouble at times.
All three judges reportedly gave Gamboa Round 7, which was his only victory on this night.
Davis, who had never been past nine rounds, seemed to tire down the stretch even with his low punch output. He threw and connected on hard shots here and there but they were infrequent and rarely came in combination. That allowed Gamboa to survive as long as he did.
The one thing Davis did well was end the fight in dramatic fashion. He had landed a few telling blows, with Gamboa trying to hold on, when the left came from underneath and sent him crashing to the canvas.
Reiss, standing over a sitting Gamboa, took one good look and waved his arms. There was no point in letting the strange fight continue.
“It was a great experience to have a game, tough opponent on my resume like him,” the soft spoken Davis said. “I’m only 25 years old, learning every day. 2020 will be a big year.”
Gamboa was asked to explain what happened with his foot.
“I think I ruptured by Achilles tendon,” he said. “… I fell in the second round and hurt it. I was never able to put much pressure on it. … I’m a warrior, I kept going, but as soon as I felt it I knew it was ruptured. People could see me hopping around.
“I told my corner, ‘This is a problem.’ But I wanted to keep going.”
Gamboa also said he will keep fighting, although that could be difficult if he really did rupture his Achilles. And, of course, Davis, one of the most popular young fighters in the game, is just getting into high gear.
He mentioned next year. That could mean Leo Santa Cruz or another big name around his weight. He was asked about that after his C+ performance and suddenly went from humble to just a little bit cocky.
“I’m the top dog,” he said. “… Bring ‘em on.”
Strange night.