Gervonta Davis vs. Rolando Romero live updates and results, full coverage.
Lightweight contenders Gervonta Davis and Rolando Romero will face off in a 12-round bout Saturday in Brooklyn on pay-per-view.
Boxing Junkie will post results of the featured bouts on the card immediately after they end. Simply return to this post when the time comes.
Also on the card: Erislandy Lara vs. Gary O’Sullivan, middleweights; Jesus Ramos vs. Luke Santamaria, junior middleweights; and Eduardo Ramirez vs. Luis Melendez, junior lightweights.
The televised/streamed portion of the card begins at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
Full coverage – a fight story, photo gallery and analysis – will follow on separate posts the night of the fight and the following day.
Watch it: Gervonta Davis shoved Rolando Romero off the stage at their weigh-in for Saturday’s lightweight fight in Brooklyn.
Gervonta Davis got a little pushy at Friday’s weigh-in for his pay-per-view fight against fellow lightweight contender Rolando Romero on pay-per-view Saturday in Brooklyn.
Davis and Romero had just completed their stare down when Romero flexed in front of his opponent. Davis responded by giving him a shove, which forced him to step off the stage.
The push caused a brief fracas but order was quickly restored and the fighters walked away.
Davis (26-0, 24 KOs) and Romero (14-0, 12 KOs) both made weight, the former coming in at 134.8 pounds and the latter weighing 134.3. The division limit is 135.
Here are the weights for the other featured fights on the card:
Erislandy Lara (159.8) vs. Gary O’Sullivan (159), middleweights.
Jesus Ramos (153.5) vs. Luke Santamaria (154), junior middleweights
Watch it: Gervonta Davis shoved Rolando Romero off the stage at their weigh-in for Saturday’s lightweight fight in Brooklyn.
Gervonta Davis got a little pushy at Friday’s weigh-in for his pay-per-view fight against fellow lightweight contender Rolando Romero on pay-per-view Saturday in Brooklyn.
Davis and Romero had just completed their stare down when Romero flexed in front of his opponent. Davis responded by giving him a shove, which forced him to step off the stage.
The push caused a brief fracas but order was quickly restored and the fighters walked away.
Davis (26-0, 24 KOs) and Romero (14-0, 12 KOs) both made weight, the former coming in at 134.8 pounds and the latter weighing 134.3. The division limit is 135.
Here are the weights for the other featured fights on the card:
Erislandy Lara (159.8) vs. Gary O’Sullivan (159), middleweights.
Jesus Ramos (153.5) vs. Luke Santamaria (154), junior middleweights
Photos: Gervonta Davis-Rolando Romero media workouts.
Gervonta Davis and Rolando Romero will do battle in a scheduled 12-round lightweight bout on pay-per-view Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
They conducted media workouts on Wednesday. Here are images from the event. All photos by Amanda Westcott of Showtime.
Gervonta Davis made it clear that he wants to fight, not exchange trash talk with Rolando Romero.
Gervonta Davis will do his talking in the ring Saturday in Brooklyn.
The lightweight contender’s opponent, Rolando Romero, has been vocal leading up to the scheduled 12-round bout on pay-per-view. He has said Davis is undersized, overrated and destined to suffer an early knockout at his hands, among other things.
Davis’ reaction? So what.
“I’m not emotional about what ‘Rolly’ is saying,” Davis said at a media workout Wednesday. “At first I was, but he showed me that he’s just a hype job. He’s trying to hype himself up to get into the fight.
“It feels like he’s acting fake right now. He’s never been in this position and you can tell.”
The latter point is true. Romero (14-0, 12 KOs) has some solid victories, including a seventh-round knockout of Anthony Yigit last July. However, he’s never faced anyone like the gifted Davis or fought in such a high-profile event.
Davis (26-0, 24 KOs) seemed to compliment Romero for having the gumption to fight him but also made it clear that things won’t go well for him on Saturday.
“A lot of fighters are calling each other out but aren’t fighting,” he said. “[Romero] worked his way up to this point and called me out. Now the fight is happening, so it’ll be great to have him on my resume after he talked all that trash.
“The fight is here. I’m sure it’ll be a little tense at the press conference, but not for me. I’m only worrying about getting in there Saturday and handling business.
“I think I’m growing as I continue on this path. I feel as though I’m getting better and better each day. I’m trying to walk like a champion just as much as I fight like a champion.
“I have two great daughters that I’m trying to raise, and I’m trying to be the best person I can be.
Romero told Boxing Junkie that Davis will be blessed if he makes in out of the opening round. Davis won’t make any bold predictions but you can guess what he’s thinking.
“Tank” has one of the highest knockout percentages, 92%. Isaac Cruz, his last opponent, went the distance with Davis but he had stopped his previous 16 opponents.
KOs come naturally to him.
“We have to wait and see what happens,” he said. “He’s predicting a first round knockout, but I’m predicting something else. Make sure you buy the pay-per-view or come out if you’re in Brooklyn, because it’s going to be a hell of a fight for sure.”
Gervonta Davis made it clear that he wants to fight, not exchange trash talk with Rolando Romero.
Gervonta Davis will do his talking in the ring Saturday in Brooklyn.
The lightweight contender’s opponent, Rolando Romero, has been vocal leading up to the scheduled 12-round bout on pay-per-view. He has said Davis is undersized, overrated and destined to suffer an early knockout at his hands, among other things.
Davis’ reaction? So what.
“I’m not emotional about what ‘Rolly’ is saying,” Davis said at a media workout Wednesday. “At first I was, but he showed me that he’s just a hype job. He’s trying to hype himself up to get into the fight.
“It feels like he’s acting fake right now. He’s never been in this position and you can tell.”
The latter point is true. Romero (14-0, 12 KOs) has some solid victories, including a seventh-round knockout of Anthony Yigit last July. However, he’s never faced anyone like the gifted Davis or fought in such a high-profile event.
Davis (26-0, 24 KOs) seemed to compliment Romero for having the gumption to fight him but also made it clear that things won’t go well for him on Saturday.
“A lot of fighters are calling each other out but aren’t fighting,” he said. “[Romero] worked his way up to this point and called me out. Now the fight is happening, so it’ll be great to have him on my resume after he talked all that trash.
“The fight is here. I’m sure it’ll be a little tense at the press conference, but not for me. I’m only worrying about getting in there Saturday and handling business.
“I think I’m growing as I continue on this path. I feel as though I’m getting better and better each day. I’m trying to walk like a champion just as much as I fight like a champion.
“I have two great daughters that I’m trying to raise, and I’m trying to be the best person I can be.
Romero told Boxing Junkie that Davis will be blessed if he makes in out of the opening round. Davis won’t make any bold predictions but you can guess what he’s thinking.
“Tank” has one of the highest knockout percentages, 92%. Isaac Cruz, his last opponent, went the distance with Davis but he had stopped his previous 16 opponents.
KOs come naturally to him.
“We have to wait and see what happens,” he said. “He’s predicting a first round knockout, but I’m predicting something else. Make sure you buy the pay-per-view or come out if you’re in Brooklyn, because it’s going to be a hell of a fight for sure.”
Gervonta Davis vs. Rolando Romero: Date, time, how to watch, background.
Gervonta Davis returns to the ring in a pay-perv-view bout against fellow contender Rolando Romero on Saturday in Brooklyn.
Gervonta Davis (26-0, 24 KOs) vs. Rolando Romero (14-0, 12 KOs)
Date: Saturday, May 28
Time: 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
TV/Stream: Pay-per-view
Cost: $74.99
Division: Lightweight (135 pounds)
Rounds: 12
At stake: No major titles
Pound-for-pound ranking: Davis No. 13
Odds: Davis 8½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
Also on the card: Erislandy Lara vs. Gary O’Sullivan, middleweights; Jesus Ramos vs. Luke Santamaria, junior middleweights; Eduardo Ramirez vs. Luis Melendez, junior lightweights
Prediction: Davis KO 7
Background: Gervonta Davis continues his march toward a lightweight title shot on Saturday. The WBA’s top contender will face unbeaten underdog Rolando Romero, who sits immediately below Davis in the sanctioning body’s rankings. “Tank” is coming off a close unanimous-decision victory (116-112, 115-113, 115-113) over aggressive Isaac Cruz in December, a fight in which Davis said he injured his left hand. That result ended Davis’ streak of knockouts at 16. The gifted former 130-pound titleholder has his sights set on the top 135-pounders, including WBA champ George Kambosos Jr. The Australian defends his belt against Devin Haney on June 5 in Melbourne. Romero has talked a good game leading up to this fight but Davis represents an enormous step up in opposition for him. The Las Vegas resident, a good boxer with power, struggled to outpoint Jackson Marinez in August 2020 but responded by stopping Avery Sparrow and Anthony Yigit in his two fights since then. The Yigit fight took place in July of last year. On the undercard, 39-year-old Erislandy Lara (28-3-3, 16 KOs) is a significant favorite to beat Gary O’Sullivan (31-4, 21 KOs) in a scheduled middleweight bout. The Cuban will be taking part in his second fight as a full-fledged 160-pounder.
Gervonta Davis vs. Rolando Romero: Date, time, how to watch, background.
Gervonta Davis returns to the ring in a pay-perv-view bout against fellow contender Rolando Romero on Saturday in Brooklyn.
Gervonta Davis (26-0, 24 KOs) vs. Rolando Romero (14-0, 12 KOs)
Date: Saturday, May 28
Time: 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
TV/Stream: Pay-per-view
Cost: $74.99
Division: Lightweight (135 pounds)
Rounds: 12
At stake: No major titles
Pound-for-pound ranking: Davis No. 13
Odds: Davis 8½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
Also on the card: Erislandy Lara vs. Gary O’Sullivan, middleweights; Jesus Ramos vs. Luke Santamaria, junior middleweights; Eduardo Ramirez vs. Luis Melendez, junior lightweights
Prediction: Davis KO 7
Background: Gervonta Davis continues his march toward a lightweight title shot on Saturday. The WBA’s top contender will face unbeaten underdog Rolando Romero, who sits immediately below Davis in the sanctioning body’s rankings. “Tank” is coming off a close unanimous-decision victory (116-112, 115-113, 115-113) over aggressive Isaac Cruz in December, a fight in which Davis said he injured his left hand. That result ended Davis’ streak of knockouts at 16. The gifted former 130-pound titleholder has his sights set on the top 135-pounders, including WBA champ George Kambosos Jr. The Australian defends his belt against Devin Haney on June 5 in Melbourne. Romero has talked a good game leading up to this fight but Davis represents an enormous step up in opposition for him. The Las Vegas resident, a good boxer with power, struggled to outpoint Jackson Marinez in August 2020 but responded by stopping Avery Sparrow and Anthony Yigit in his two fights since then. The Yigit fight took place in July of last year. On the undercard, 39-year-old Erislandy Lara (28-3-3, 16 KOs) is a significant favorite to beat Gary O’Sullivan (31-4, 21 KOs) in a scheduled middleweight bout. The Cuban will be taking part in his second fight as a full-fledged 160-pounder.
Rolando Romero said that “if (Gervonta Davis) makes it out of the first round, he’ll be blessed.”
A lot of people have been impressed with the accomplishments of lightweight contender Gervonta Davis. Rolando Romero, Davis’ opponent on pay-per-view Saturday, isn’t one of them.
Take Davis’ decision victory over Isaac Cruz in December, in which he overcame what he said was an injured hand to win a close decision in a 12-round bout. Romero’s take on that fight? Davis doesn’t like strong, aggressive opponents, like he is.
Davis, he said, “is not that impressive.”
“That fight showed he’s afraid of punchers,” Romero told Boxing Junkie, referring to the Davis-Cruz fight. “He’s afraid someone will take his s— and beat the s— out of him. … He’s going to get knocked out quick.
“If he makes it out of the first round, he’ll be blessed.”
Yes, Romero (14-0, 12 KOs) is confident in spite of his relative lack of experience.
The 26-year-old native of Las Vegas reportedly had only 35 amateur fights, meaning he’s taken part in 49 organized bouts in total. Davis, an outstanding amateur, is closing in on a reported 250 total amateur and professional fights.
Romero narrowly got past a stubborn Jackson Marinez in August 2020 but stopped Avery Sparrow and Anthony Yigit in his subsequent two bouts to earn a shot at arguably the most-talented 135-pounder in the world on Saturday.
And he’s had more than enough time to prepare. He was scheduled to face Davis on Dec. 5 but was pulled from the show – and replaced by Cruz – as a result of sexual assault allegations levelled against him. No charges were filed.
He said he has essentially been training since before the December fight.
“It’s been a blessing,” he said of the extra time. “Not everyone gets a second chance. Am I more ready than last time? It’s like night and day. I’m a completely different person. I wasn’t eating potato chips and all that stuff. I spent time working out and focusing on my craft.”
Romero made time to watch Dmitry Bivol’s upset unanimous-decision victory over Canelo Alvarez on May 7.
He has always thought that he has what it takes to beat Davis. Bivol-Alvarez merely underscored the reality that even highly regarded fighters like Alvarez – or Davis, this case – are vulnerable against the right opponent.
Romero believes he’s that opponent, in part because he’s the naturally bigger man.
“[Bivol-Alvarez] just shows that anything can happen in boxing,” he said. “They thought Canelo would win. And some people think this little m—–f—– (Davis) is going to beat me. … I’m obviously the bigger puncher.
“It’s going to be beneficial to the sport of boxing when I win.”
What does he mean by that?
Davis (26-0, 24 KOs) is one of the biggest stars in the sport, as evidenced by his social media following. That’s why he has become a pay-per-view fighter.
Romero contends that Davis is popular primarily because of his association with his promoter, Floyd Mayweather. He believes he has the genuine star power that his better-known opponent lacks.
“Why am I promoting the show? he said, a reference to the many interviews he has conducted. “Why do you need a dude with 14 fights and zero amateur background to carry the show? Shouldn’t it be the superstar?
“He ain’t doing s—. I’m the one building the fight, I’m the one trying to be a star.”
He went on: “Floyd promoted the hell out of him, him being a champion, being a star. They all tune in because of Floyd. Tank has no personality, he’s slow. He has a hard time speaking. I’m better for the sport of boxing. That should be obvious.”
We’ll see whether he’s the better fighter on Saturday.”
