Gervonta Davis regained his knockout power and retained his lightweight title Saturday night, stopping Rolando Romero in the sixth round.
Davis landed an overwhelming left hand and Romero fell forward against the ropes. He struggled and stood up, but was clearly shaken and referee David Fields ended the fight.
“It’s crazy that I didn’t even throw it so hard. He ran into it, “Davis said.
Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) had to cover the distance in his last win only for the second time in his career, and Romero had said before the fight that the three-division champion was vulnerable.
If Davis was, it wasn’t for long. He seemed to hurt his left hand in a punch in the fifth round, but there was nothing wrong with the next.
Shortly after leaving the ring, many fans trying to get out of the Barclays Center ran back to the arena floor, some even jumping into the ring in panic after there was a loud noise outside an exit. Security kept some fans in one area for a while until it was considered safe to leave.
A New York City police spokesman told the Associated Press that the noise outside the arena was a “loud disturbance” and said there was no shooting. The spokesman said there were reports of some minor injuries due to the commotion.
Tennis star Naomi Osaka was among the frantic Barclays Center fans. She tweeted that she was “petrified.”
It was right in the middle of Barclays and all of a sudden I heard screams and saw people running, then they called us that there was an active shooter and we had to pile into a room and close the doors, I was a petrified man.
– NaomiOsaka Naomi Osaka (@naomiosaka) May 29, 2022
“I heard screams and saw people running, then they called us that there was an active shooter and that we had to pile up in a room and close the doors, I was a petrified man,” tweeted the four-time Grand Champion. Slam. . Shortly afterwards, he added: “I really hope everyone has come out safe, as I’m tweeting this, we’ve done well.”
Romero lost for the first time in 15 professional fights, but did not finish talking after doing so much in the weeks before the fight. In fact, he wants another one.
“I won all six rounds,” Romero said. “I won every moment of that fight, I exposed it and we have to do it [fight] back. “
It was an electrifying finale for boxing’s return to Brooklyn, where Davis won his first title in 2017. He broke a record 18,970 for this fight, with the first major card at the Barclays Center since before it began. the pandemic two years ago.
Romero had repeatedly boasted that he would knock Davis out in a round, but the only significant punches in the first three minutes were landed during a fight in the stands. He scored well with a few shots in the second, but then missed an opportunity to follow when he pushed Davis to the canvas as they tightened.
The fight was fairly evenly matched for four rounds and Davis appeared to be on his way to his most dominant round in the fifth when the Baltimore native suddenly grimaced even though he later said his hand was not injured. Whatever the problem, it didn’t last long.
“I didn’t even throw him so hard and he was the one who ran into him, when he said he was going to be me,” Davis said.