Improving his record to 23-0, Gervonta “Tank” Davis became the WBA’s (Regular) Lightweight champion on Saturday through beating Yuriorkis Gamboa by TKO in the 12th round at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
Though there were several knockdowns throughout the fight, many detractors were left unimpressed by the way the 25-year-old, tipped as a next generation superstar, failed to put away a veteran that snapped his Achilles tendon in the second round much sooner.
'I wasn't pressing for the knockout,' Davis said. 'Once I seen I was hurting him and he wasn't getting out of there, I just had to touch him up and win the rounds.'
Davis stayed unbeaten in his career with a 12th-round stoppage of Gamboa to win a lightweight title Saturday night.
Fighting past the ninth round for the first time, Davis (23-0, 22 KOs) showed why his nickname is Tank, releasing a barrage of punches in the final round before a left uppercut to the head ended the fight at the 1:44 mark when referee Jack Reiss called it.
