Undefeated American Gervonta “Tank” Davis managed to capture a world championship in a third different category on Saturday night when he defeated Mario “El Azteca” Barrios by technical knockout in 11 rounds and added the regular super lightweight belt of the World Boxing Association (WBA) championships.
The fight was Davis’ 140 lbs. debut and from the beginning of the bout he was very cautious and at times looked uncomfortable due to Barrios’ physical advantage. ‘El Azteca’ was very active with his jab on Davis and used good punching combinations to keep Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s pupil at bay.
However, Davis made the necessary adjustments in the development of the fight and managed to break the distance that Barrios had implemented and this allowed him to work inside and connect with uppercuts, hooks and straight left hands, as well as right hands.
In round 8 “Tank” managed to send Barrios to the canvas 3 times, but round 11 was the most convincing, as it was through a powerful blow to the pit of Barrios’ stomach from which he could not recover, and after getting up already hurt, the referee decided to stop the actions and thus prevent further punishment.
With this victory Davis improved his undefeated record to 25 fights, 24 of them by knockout and 16 consecutive knockouts. In addition, he has won world championships at 130, 135 and now 140 pounds.