Gervonta Davis got the final result he wanted. It just didn't come when he wanted it.
"Tank" had the longest fight of his pro career Saturday, but he avoided going the distance with a 12th-round TKO of Yuriorkis Gamboa at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Davis dropped Gamboa three times in the bout, with the final knockdown coming on a left uppercut in the final frame that the Cuban fighter never saw coming. Referee Jack Reiss had seen enough at that point and immediately stopped the fight.
Despite adding "world lightweight titleholder" to his status of being a two-time super featherweight champion, Davis (23-0, 22 KOs) wasn't impressed with his performance. He gave himself a C-plus for his handling of Gamboa.
Davis insisted that needing two attempts to make weight Friday didn't affect his performance Saturday night and added that he learned a valuable lesson.
"[The weight] wasn't really a problem; it was just short timing and things like that," Davis said of the bout. "I blame myself and I don't blame anyone around me. I blame myself and am continuing to learn."
Davis started out fast, first dropping Gamboa with a left hand to the body in the second round.
Gamboa was favoring his right leg as he rose off the canvas. After the fight, he told Showtime's Jim Gray, "I think I ruptured my Achilles tendon."
Whether or not that was indeed the case, the 25-year-old Davis was clearly the more explosive fighter, although he couldn't put Gamboa away sooner despite outclassing his 38-year-old opponent. The veteran hung on with pure heart and guts.
Still, Davis showed dazzling skills in the eighth round as he stepped back, created space and dropped Gamboa with another left hand.
Gamboa somehow managed to unleash a three-punch combination to stun Davis in the 10th round, but "Tank" reasserted himself and made sure to end the bout with yet another knockout.
After the victory, the undefeated Davis issued the following warning to the lightweight division, his new stomping grounds, for 2020:
"I'm the top dog, and, as you know, there's no safety on this Glock," he said, coldly, on the Showtime broadcast, "so bring 'em on."
The division currently touts Vasiliy Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez — Top Rank fighters — as world champions. Davis fights under the PBC banner.