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Gervonta Davis believes even Rolando Romero himself doubts the trash his opponent Saturday night has talked during the buildup toward their fight.
Romero repeatedly has predicted that he’ll knock out Davis in the first round of their 12-round fight for Davis’ secondary WBA lightweight title. Davis’ rival claims that he is too big, too strong, too explosive and too tough for the unbeaten Baltimore native to beat him in their Showtime Pay-Per-View main event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (9 p.m. ET; $74.99).
The 27-year-old Davis has heard or read virtually every word Romero has said about him, but he has stopped taking it personally.
“I’m not emotional,” Davis told Premier Boxing Champions’ Ray Flores during an open workout Wednesday at Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn. “At first I was [emotional], when we first was gonna fight [December 5]. But now it’s just like he showed me that he a hype job. He tryin’ to hype his self up to get his self into the fight, I believe. I don’t think that he’s really like – the way he actin’ right now it just, I don’t know, it feel like it’s fake. That’s what it is. He just happy to be at this point. He ain’t never had cameras in his face, and you could tell.”
Romero (14-0, 12 KOs), of North Las Vegas, Nevada, is the WBA’s number one contender in the lightweight division. The WBA thus ordered them to fight last year for Davis’ world 135-pound championship, but their bout was postponed 6½ months due to Romero’s legal entanglement last fall.
A woman with whom Romero was once acquainted accused him of sexually assaulting her at some point in the fall of 2019. Detectives for the Henderson (Nevada) Police Department investigated her allegation, but charges weren’t filed against Romero and the case was closed.
Mexico City’s Isaac Cruz still replaced Romero on five weeks’ notice, once the aforementioned woman filed a police report. Davis defeated Cruz (23-2-1, 16 KOs) by unanimous decision December 5 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, yet the rugged Cruz ended Davis’ 16-fight knockout streak and took him 12 rounds for the first time in his nine-year pro career.
The 26-year-old Romero reiterated Wednesday that he won’t need one full round to knock out Davis (26-0, 24 KOs), who has won titles in three divisions. Davis smiled when reminded Wednesday of Romero’s bold prediction.
“I mean, we gotta wait and see, man,” Davis said. “Hey, that’s his prediction. My prediction is somethin’ else. So, we just gotta wait and see, man. Make sure y’all buy the pay-per-view. Make sure y’all come out if you in New York. And I know, for sure, it’s gonna be a hell of a fight, for sure.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.