Gervonta Davis and Rolando Romero are one of two things: They’re either two of the best actors in the boxing business when it comes to hyping a fight, or they genuinely hate each other.
Regardless, they’ll peel back the curtain and punch each other in the face Saturday night in the main event of a four-bout pay-per-view show produced by Showtime from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Never one to run from an opportunity to break down a fight, the B/R combat sports team took a look at the matchup from all possible angles to determine who has what advantages and forecast how it’ll go when the opening bell rings in New York’s most populous borough.
Scroll through to see what we came up with, and feel free to toss a jab or two of your own in the comments.
What: Gervonta Davis vs. Rolando Romero
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn
When: Saturday
TV: Showtime PPV
What’s at Stake: The promotional types will have you believe Davis is making another defense of a credible world championship at 135 pounds, but he’s not.
The belt he holds is the WBA’s second-tier lightweight title behind George Kambosos Jr., which renders it about as worthwhile as a screen door on a submarine.
That said, it’s still a pretty darn good fight. Davis is unquestionably one of the sport’s hottest young stars, thanks to an unblemished record featuring 26 victories and 24 knockouts. He’s had title claims of varying worth in two divisions and has a social media presence that’s supplemented his in-ring achievements.
Romero is a bit more of a mystery with a 14-0 record and 12 KOs against lesser competition, but he certainly talks the talk with the best of them and has promised mayhem on Saturday night.
“He’s going to get knocked out in one round,” he said at Wednesday’s pre-fight media workout.
“He’s been knocked down in the gym a bunch of times. He gets wobbled, knocked out and all sorts of hurt. I feel bad for him. I’m going to go in there and beat him up. That’s my only game plan. Make your money betting on me in this fight. We’re all going to get rich together.”
If he backs up his words, he won’t be far off that suggestion. Romero is a +600 underdog according to the numbers folks at DraftKings, which means a $100 wager in his direction would return $600. Davis, meanwhile, is a -1000 favorite, meaning it’ll take a $1000 bet to bring back $100 if he is victorious.
