Gervonta Davis doesn’t exactly see a one-punch knockout as the most satisfying outcome against Rolando Romero on Saturday night.
The hard hitting Baltimore native believes it would be more appealing to apply a steady beatdown of his brash opponent in their 12-round, WBA “World” lightweight title bout this Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Indeed, Davis prefers a scenario in which Romero is battered to the point that Romero’s coach, Bullet Gordon, has to step in and halt the bout. By doing so, Davis hopes to hang a win over Gordon as well. There is some bad blood between Davis and Romero’s trainer.
Davis and Gordon got into it during a press conference in April to announce the bout, with both trading heated words. Gordon accused Davis of acting like a “gangster,” while Davis mocked Gordon by calling him “Booker T.”
“For me I want his coach to stop it,” Davis told Showtime after his weigh-in Friday afternoon. “Instead of me knocking him out I want his coach to stop it so that I can feel as though I beat him and his coach. Know what I mean?
“A knockout is just a lucky shot. I want to beat him up bad. I want to punish him.”
The fighters are both promoted by Floyd Mayweather Jr. There was a bit of commotion after both fighters made weight and prepared for a face-off. Davis, irked by Romero stepping in front of him on the stage and flexing his muscles, pushed his rival off the stage. A brief flare-up ensued but no one was hurt.
The 12-round lightweight bout between the 27-year-old Davis (26-0, 24 KOs) and 26-year-old Romero (14-0, 12 KOs)will air on Showtime pay-per-view. Both fighters made weight easily, with Davis, the titlist, clocking in at 133 3/4 pounds and Romero weighing in at 134 1/4 pounds.