Well, Gervonta Davis carried his power up to 140 pounds.
Mario Barrios gave Davis a tougher fight than many expected on Saturday night at a packed State Farm Arena in Atlanta but, in the end, it was Davis’ punching power that allowed him to win by an 11th-round knockout after moving up two divisions for the fight.
Barrios (26-1, 17 KOs) controlled the first four rounds with his jab and enough power shots to win rounds as Davis (25-0, 24 KOs) tried to figure out how to get inside his opponent’s long reach.
“Tank” started to find success in Round 5, as he closed the distance and began to land eye-catching punches.
He was the aggressor from then on, although the next few rounds were competitive as Barrios continued to hold his own.
Then came a huge round for Davis. About a minute into Round 8, Davis landed a right hook to Barrios’ temple that sent him to the canvas. He got up but went down again moments later from a big left.
Barrios demonstrated his resilience by surviving Davis’ efforts to end the fight and actually winning Round 9. However, that was his last hurrah.
Davis hurt Barrios with several big shots toward the end of Round 10. And then he did what does, which was to score a brutal knockout. The big punch was a left uppercut to the body that sent Barrios to all fours in great pain.
He managed to get to his feet. However, moments later, a big left hand sent him into the ropes and referee Thomas Taylor ended it at that point to protect Barrios, who lost a secondary junior welterweight title.
The official time was 2:13 of Round 11.
All three judges had Davis winning by a large margin after 10 rounds, 97-91 (seven rounds to three), 97-91 and 96-92. Boxing Junkie had it even 94-94.
Of course, Davis, who can fight at 130, 135 or 140, has many options. Oscar Valdez, Jamel Herring and Shakur Stevenson reside at 130. Teofimo Lopez, Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia are the stars at 135. And, assuming Davis was comfortable at 140, he could target undisputed champ Josh Taylor.
And Davis just might be favored to beat all of the above.
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