Arlington, Texas: Saturday night brought with it a handful of knockouts. In Baltimore, Maryland, undefeated former IBF& current WBA Super Featherweight Champion, Gervonta “Tank” Davis (22-0, 21 KOs), showed why he currently owns the second highest KO percentage in the sport. After feeling out his opponent and mandatory challenger, Ricardo Nuñez (21-3, 19 KOs), in the first round, Davis quickly established himself in Round 2. “Tank” began to be aggressive about 30 seconds into the round, landing at will. Less than a minute later, Nuñez was forced back against the ropes and clearly hurt after three snapping headshots landed from Davis. After the third shot, Nuñez’s hands dropped and the referee, Harvey Dock, immediately stepped in to call a halt to the bout.
In the co-main event – prior to the Davis victory – former 3-division world champion, Yuriorkis “El Ciclon” Gamboa (30-2, 18 KOs), continued his sluggish comeback by putting on a clinic against former 3-time WBO Super Featherweight World Champion, Roman “Rocky” Martinez (30-4, 18 KOs). Martinez never stood a chance, as Gamboa looked stronger and more fit than he had in years. Dominating from the onset, Yuri dropped Martinez in the first round. That would set the tone of things to come. In Round 2, “El Ciclon” landed a perfectly placed left hook over Rocky’s right hand and dropped him for a second time. A minute later, Gamboa again landed a well-placed left hook, this time setting up a straight right that would rock a middleweight. This punch would create the final knockdown of the fight, as Martinez had some obvious discomfort in his mouth and would struggle – and fail – to get back to his feet before the referee’s count of 10. The fight was called a Jr. Lightweight bout, although a contracted weight of 134 pounds was used. Gamboa’s team now looks to ink a deal to face the aforementioned Gervonta Davis.
On another network, the fight of the night took place. Two undefeated super lightweight world champions faced off to unify belts for the first time in the division since Terence Crawford held the undisputed bragging rights in 2017. WBC Super Lightweight Champion, José Ramírez, and WBO Super Lightweight Champion, Maurice Hooker, appeared to be very equally matched leading up to the fight. After four rounds, it seemed this was still the case, as both men came to fight. Each showed signs of a warrior spirit with an almost identical punch output. This was undoubtedly a close contest until Ramirez took control late in Round 5. Entering Round 6, it appeared Ramírez found his groove and then caught Hooker sleeping. Landing a combination to the head of Hooker, Ramirez had him hurt and moved in for the kill. A ferocious flurry followed and the referee had no choice but to step in and stop the contest @ 1:46 of Round 6. José Ramírez (25-0, 17 KOs)is now a unified champion, holding both the WBC & WBO belts. Maurice Hooker (26-1-3, 17 KOs)suffered his first defeat and will now take a step back before making a decision on what may be next for his career.
Later this year, undefeated WBA Super Lightweight Champion, Regis Prograis (24-0, 20 KOs)is slated to face off against undefeated IBF Super Lightweight Champion, Josh Taylor (15-0, 12 KOs)to unify the other pieces of the puzzle in the division. The deal isn’t sealed just yet, but it’s looking more likely with the passing of time. Keeping in mind there is a Super Series currently taking place in the division, which includes both of these fighters, technically each is contractually obligated to fight the other. Look for Ramírez to take on the winner of that contest for all of the marbles in the early part of 2020.
-Mike Feinberg
TFN Reporter
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