Gervonta Davis drops Mario Barrios three times, scores 11th-round stoppage in Atlanta

Gervonta Davis needed to work for it, however he dropped Mario Barrios 3 times earlier than stopping him within the eleventh spherical of their junior welterweight battle Saturday evening in Atlanta. Barrios seemed to be effectively forward midway by means of the Showtime PPV headliner, however “Tank” turned it on within the second half at State Farm Area.

“I made it powerful on myself,” Davis stated after the battle. “I might have made it simpler. I’m the kind of fighter that desires to catch you with clear photographs. The photographs that I used to be throwing, most of them had been lacking, however finally I caught up with him. Once I caught him, it confirmed. Floyd Mayweather got here to my nook and instructed me I used to be down. I knew I used to be down. He instructed me, “Present me that you just’re nice.”

“Congrats to Tank, he got here in right here and did his factor,” stated Barrios after the conclusion. “It was an thrilling battle and that’s what we each predicted. He’s explosive, he caught me slipping.”

The battle started at a really sluggish tempo with neither man throwing a lot. Barrios, The Ring’s No. 7-rated junior welterweight, appeared to regulate a lot of the first 4 rounds together with his jab, using his top and attain benefit to maintain Davis (25-0, 24 knockouts) at bay. He definitely wasn’t dominating, however Barrios seemed to be doing simply sufficient work to take these early rounds. Davis, a southpaw, was slowly slicing down the gap, although.

Issues lastly heated up a little bit within the fifth, with Davis touchdown a number of straight lefts. A trickle of blood appeared from Barrios’ nostril within the sixth, as each males continued having success. The sold-out crowd “oohed” and “aahed” anytime Davis threw a punch. Nonetheless, Barrios seemed to be forward on my unofficial card. However a minute into the eighth spherical, Barrios (26-1, 17 KOs) fell asleep for a cut up second and Tank made him pay. The San Antonio, Texas native bit on a feint, dropped his left hand and “Tank” caught him with a proper hook to the temple, dropping him. Barrios made it to his toes, however moments later he was down once more. The group thought it over, however as soon as once more Barrios made it to his toes. Davis went in for the kill, however “El Azteca” stood his floor and completed the spherical on his toes.

Barrios had an excellent ninth spherical, pushing Davis again with a number of arduous punches that clearly bought his consideration. Out of the blue, it felt as if the momentum would possibly shift. The group cooled down. After the spherical, promoter Floyd Mayweather instructed Davis in his nook, “You’re down on the unofficial scorecards. I gotta be trustworthy with you, that’s my job.”

Davis swung for the fences with nearly each shot he launched at Barrios. Photograph by Amanda Wescott-SHOWTIME

The warnings appear to work, as Davis got here out swinging within the championship rounds, clearly going for the knockout. Within the eleventh, an explosive left uppercut to the photo voltaic plexus dropped Barrios.

He made it to his toes, however a follow-up assault from Davis harm him once more, prompting referee Thomas Taylor to cease the battle at 2:13 of the spherical.

CompuBox statistics reveal how aggressive the battle was. Davis was credited with touchdown 96 of 296 complete punches (32%), whereas Barrios linked on 93 of 394 (24%). Each males landed 17 physique punches. On the time of the stoppage, the official judges had the battle scored 97-91 and 96-92 twice for Davis. These playing cards felt a bit huge within the eyes of many ringside media and followers. However ultimately, Davis made the judges irrelevant.

Barrios deserves credit score for combating effectively in spots and standing his floor. He suffered his first official loss as a professional tonight, however undoubtedly received over many followers within the course of.

As for Davis, the marketing strategy at Mayweather Promotions is straightforward. They may proceed to go for the bottom danger with the best attainable reward. Which means we received’t hear names like Teofimo Lopez, Josh Taylor, Regis Prograis and the like talked about by anybody on Tank’s crew. So regardless if Davis goes again down in weight or stays at 140-pounds, followers can anticipate extra rigorously crafted matchmaking within the close to future. The Baltimore native has now received two secondary titles since transferring up from junior light-weight, however is but to face an elite opponent at 135 or 140.