Notebook: Lightweight star Davis, Romero ready to finally settle longstanding grudge
BetUS show, FITE in Focus; Joyce return set; July 15 TR card details; Gary Russell Sr. dies at 63; Quick hits; Show and tell
A note to Fight Freaks Unite readers: If you have upgraded to a paid subscription, thank you! If you have not, please consider doing so to receive the most content. A paid subscription is also your way of keeping this reader-supported newsletter going and supporting independent journalism.
Lightweight star Gervonta “Tank” Davis has mostly let challenger Rolando Romero do the talking — and he has done a lot of it — as they get set to settle their long-standing grudge.
They will fight for Davis’ secondary 135-pound title in the main event on Saturday (Showtime PPV and PPV.com, 9 p.m. ET, $74.99) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
It is a place where Davis is comfortable and very familiar with and he intends on producing a similarly impressive performance against Romero as he has there in the past.
The fight will be Davis’ third Barclays Center fight and the previous two resulted in important victories. He won his first world title there in January 2017 when he dominated and stopped then-undefeated Jose Pedraza for the IBF junior lightweight title. In April 2018, he blitzed Jesus Cuellar in a third-round knockout victory to win the WBA junior lightweight belt.
Now, he returns to the arena, where Barclays Center officials say the fight will be a probable sell-out and set the building record for the biggest live gate of any of the 40 boxing events it has hosted.
“I’m excited to be back in Brooklyn and back at Barclays Center. This is a great city that always shows me love,” said the Baltimore native Davis. “It’s always been like a second home to me. I’m grateful to be back.
“I won my first title here in Brooklyn and then won a second title at Barclays Center as well. I feel like this fight at this arena is great for boxing.”
He will be defending his current belt for the third time and, like most, expects the fight with Romero to produce action for as long as it goes.
“This is going to be fireworks. It’s going to be crazy in there,” Davis said. “I just hope he doesn’t use his elbows like he does a lot.”
Romero (14-0, 12 KOs), 26, of Las Vegas, is predicting a first-round knockout victory.
“We know that Rolly is going to come out in round one and try to knock me out like he said,” Davis said. “I’ll be ready for that. The time is here and I’m ready.”
There is no love lost between the two. Romero claims Davis (26-0, 24 KOs), 27, a southpaw, avoided him by bailing on pre-arranged sparring sessions a few years ago. Davis has shown him little respect.
“He’s like someone who just came into the gym,” Davis said. “He’s like someone who thinks he’s nice now even though he hasn’t gotten it down pat yet. Real fighters know awkward fighters. He’s just a dumb fighter.
“I just want to show people that there are different levels when it comes to boxing. There are people that play boxing and there are people who have been doing this since they were kids. It’s time to show that I’m one of the guys who’s not to be played with. It starts with him and it’s going to continue.”
At Friday’s weigh-in in front of Barclays Center, when Romero stepped in front of Davis to flex as they posed for photos, Davis pushed him off the stage. Fortunately, Romero landed on his feet, was not hurt and jumped back up on stage. They had to be separated.
“This guy Davis talks about everything but the fight,” said Romero, who called Davis out for the past few years before finally getting the bout. “He’s taking this fight personally. My job is just to beat him up. He’s very emotional. That’s why I’ve been calling him out.
“He has a big head for me to hit. I’m not going to say what punch I’m getting him with, but you’re all going to see on Saturday night. This is ending in one round. I’m ready to get violent in the ring. I’m smiling right now, but Saturday is going to be different. I feel extremely calm in the ring. I get into ‘Rolly’ mode.
“You guys are going to see ‘Tank’ get knocked out in one round Saturday night at Barclays Center. Nothing else needs to be said. I’m going to go in there and hit him with one punch and we’re going to be done.”
Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe, who promotes both fighters, knows just how high tensions between them are and said he views the fight as one of the most anticipated he has worked on.
“Somebody is going to lose and somebody is getting knocked out,” Ellerbe said. “I know both guys are in tremendous shape. They’ve had excellent camps. No matter what anyone says, both guys have gotten up for this fight.
“In my eyes, this is a very dangerous fight for both guys. Sometimes there is a person who is supposed to win, but it doesn’t come out like that. Sometimes that person gets it done. Over the last year we’ve all seen Canelo Alvarez, Manny Pacquiao, Mikey Garcia, Teofimo Lopez, Anthony Joshua and Chris Colbert all came into their fights knowing they were going to win the fight, and somehow they came up short. When you look at (the heavily favored Davis), he’s doing exactly what he’s supposed to be doing. He’s one of the best fighters in the entire world. When you look at Rolly, a lot of people talk about what he can’t do, but from experience, that looks different when you’re up in it in the ring.”
BetUS Boxing Show
On our new weekly BetUS boxing preview and picks show, TJ Rives and I were live on YouTube and the BetUS website on Friday afternoon breaking down the Gervonta Davis-Rolando Romero pay-per-view card on Saturday night and giving our picks related to the BetUS odds. We also took some viewer questions and generally had a lot of fun. If you missed it live, please check it out and make sure to subscribe to the new YouTube channel for the show! Hope you enjoy.
FITE in Focus
I joined my friends at FITE to preview Davis-Romero on an episode of FITE in Focus since the card will be available on FITE in many markets outside the United States, including in the United Kingdom and Canada. Check out the show here:
Joe Joyce returns
The plan remains for heavyweight contender Joe Joyce and former world titlist Joseph Parker to fight, but instead of the match taking place in July as originally planned, promoter Frank Warren said Friday the fight is being targeted for September.
Instead, Joyce will first fight an opponent to be determined on July 2 at the OVO Arena, Wembley in London.
Joyce (13-0, 12 KOs), 36, of England, the 2016 Olympic super heavyweight silver medalist, is coming off a wrist injury that has kept him sidelined so far this year. In his last fight, he scored a sixth-round knockout of former world title challenger Carlos Takam at the same venue last July. Parker (30-2, 21 KOs), 30, of New Zealand, has won six fights in a row and is coming off a decision win in his rematch with Dereck Chisora in December.
“Joes had a frustration time since his demolition job on Carlo Takam last year. He’s not been as active as we or he would have liked due to a wrist injury and the delay to his showdown with Joseph Parker,” Warren said. “We found out last week that Parker’s training schedule scuppered our plans for them to meet on July 2, but it was important to us and Joe that he still fight after such a lengthy layoff with injury.
“The carrot for Joyce is a win on July 2 will set up a massive showdown with Parker in September. He needs to keep his focus though and deliver on July 2 as the big opportunities are now there to be taken.”
Warren also announced the rest of the July 2 card, which will be headlined by junior featherweight Jason Cunningham (31-6, 7 KOs), 32, of England, defending the Commonwealth title against former bantamweight and junior bantamweight world titlist and fellow southpaw Zolani Tete (29-4, 22 KOs), 34, of South Africa. Tete will be fighting for the second time since suffering a third-round knockout loss that cost him his WBO bantamweight belt against John Riel Casimero in England in November 2019.
Also on the card, British light heavyweight contender Callum Johnson (20-1, 14 KOs), 36, will face fellow former world title challenger Igor Mikhalkin (24-3, 11 KOs), 36, a Russian southpaw. The fight will be Johnson’s first since September because a bout with Covid-19 forced him to withdraw from a January challenge against WBO light heavyweight titlist Joe Smith Jr.
“Jason Cunningham versus Zolani Tete is about as even as matchmaking can be in boxing and the same can be said regarding Callum Johnson versus Igor Mikhalkin,” Warren said. “I’m predicting fan-friendly action across both fights in matchups that will get the winners in the mix with the top guys in their respective divisions.”
Barboza-Zorrilla headlines TR card
Junior welterweight Arnold Barboza Jr. will have a home region fight when he faces Danielito Zorrilla in the 10-round main event of a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card on July 15 (ESPN/ESPN Deportes/ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET) at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California, the company announced.
Barboza (26-0, 10 KOs), 30, of South El Monte, California, will be coming off an 11-month layoff when he meets Zorrilla (16-0, 12 KOs), 28, of Puerto Rico.
“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. This fight will put the other fighters at 140 pounds on notice,” said Barboza, who has been mentioned as a possible opponent for the return of former lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez, who is moving up in weight. “We’re going to take full advantage of it. Zorrilla is undefeated, ranked, and coming off a great win. We’re going to make a statement on July 15. I want a world title shot soon, and I’m going to keep pushing forward and fighting whoever they put in front of me.”
Zorrilla, who is promoted by Miguel Cotto Promotions, is coming off a second-round knockout of former world title challenger Pablo Cesar Cano in September.
“We have been waiting for an opportunity of this magnitude,” Zorrilla said. “Arnold Barboza Jr. is a quality opponent, and I’ve always wanted an at-bat against a top contender. I am working very hard, and I will be at 100 percent on July 15 to continue my journey to a junior welterweight world championship.”
The two other bouts on the main card each will feature a 2020 U.S. Olympic silver medalist: lightweight Keyshawn Davis and super heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr.
Davis (5-0, 4 KOs), 23, of Norfolk, Virginia, will face Jair Valtierra (16-1, 8 KOs), 20, of Mexico, in the eight-round co-feature and Torrez (1-0, 1 KO), 22, a southpaw from Tulare, California, will fight Roberto Zavala Jr. (2-1-1, 2 KOs), 34, of Del Rio, Texas, in the six-round opener.
Torrez turned pro on March 4 and would have been back in the ring sooner but he suffered a cut in his debut.
“Ever since that cut in my pro debut, I’ve been counting down the days until my next fight,” Torrez said. “I’m thankful to be fighting on ESPN and back in my home state. If you don’t know why you should watch me, you will soon.”
Among the bouts on the ESPN+-only portion of the card, hot lightweight prospect Raymond Muratalla (14-0, 12 KOs), 25, of Fontana, California, will go in an eight-rounder against an opponent to be determined
Gary Russell Sr. dies
The boxing world is mourning the passing on Monday of Gary Russell Sr., the father and trainer of the fighting Russell brothers.
Russell, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, died at age 63 due to complications related to Type 2 diabetes.
Russell struggled with health issues in recent years and in December had to have his left foot amputated due to diabetes. Because of that, he was unable to train son Gary Russell Jr. for a featherweight title defense, which he lost to Mark Magsayo, on Jan. 22. The elder Russell, who had 11 children, was ringside in wheelchair.
Besides training Gary Jr. (31-2, 18 KOs), a 2008 U.S. Olympian, to a professional world title, Gary Sr. also trained sons Gary Antuanne Russell (15-0, 15 KOs), a 2016 Olympian and one of boxing’s top junior welterweight prospects, and bantamweight contender Gary Antonio Russell (19-0, 12 KOs). Eldest son Gary Antonio Jones went 22-2 during his 1996 to 2011 pro career.
Quick hits
Weights from Brooklyn, New York, for Saturday’s Premier Boxing Champion Showtime PPV card: Gervonta Davis 133.75 pounds, Rolando Romero 134.25 (for Davis’s WBA “regular” lightweight title); Erislandy Lara 159.75, Spike O’Sullivan 159 (for Lara’s WBA “regular” middleweight title); Jesus Ramos 153.5, Luke Santamaria 154; Eduardo Ramirez 130, Luis Melendez 130; Luis Arias 155.25, Jimmy Williams 154; Jalil Hackett 145, Jose Belloso 145.75.
Lightweight star Ryan Garcia (22-0, 18 KOs), 23, of Victorville, California, who is slated to headline a Golden Boy card July 16 on DAZN, does not have a set opponent but candidates include Javier Fortuna and Joseph Diaz Jr., a source with knowledge of the discussions told Fight Freaks Unite. Garcia was ordered to meet Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz in a WBC final eliminator but the WBC canceled the order last week claiming both fighters had set fights, even though neither did. Garcia was scheduled to fight former secondary junior lightweight titlist Fortuna (37-3-1, 26 KOs), 33, of the Dominican Republic, last July before withdrawing due to mental health issues. Garcia was set to return in November against former junior lightweight titlist Diaz (32-2-1, 15 KOs), 29, of Downey, California, but pulled out after injuring his right wrist and hand and having surgery. Diaz, filling in for Garcia, outpointed Fortuna last July.
Welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz Jr. (18-0, 18 KOs), 24, who is due back in action headlining a Golden Boy card on Aug. 6 (DAZN) at a site to be determined in his home region of Dallas, likely will face David Avanesyan (29-3-1, 17 KOs), 33, a Russia native based in England, in a WBC final eliminator that would make the winner a mandatory challenger for three-belt titlist Errol Spence Jr. Golden Boy told Fight Freaks Unite they are in the process of finalizing the bout. Ortiz and Avanesyan have both faced former title challenger Egidijus Kavaliauskas. Ortiz knocked him out in the eighth round last August. Kavaliauskas stopped Avanesyan in the sixth round in 2018.
Matchroom Boxing rounded out the card headlined by WBC junior bantamweight titlist Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez defending against former champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai on June 25 (DAZN) at Tech Port Arena in Rodriguez’s hometown of San Antonio. Featherweight Raymond Ford (11-0-1, 6 KOs), 23, of Camden, New Jersey, will face Richard Medina (13-0, 7 KOs), 21, of San Antonio, in a 10-round regional title defense. Also added were three Keith Connolly-managed prospects: Fresno, California, lightweight Marc Castro (7-0, 5 KOs), 22, who faces Puerto Rican Jean Guerra Vargas (6-0, 1 KO), 21, in an eight-rounder; Brooklyn, New York, middleweight Nikita Ababiy (11-0, 6 KOs), 23, versus Noe Larrios Jr. (14-1, 6 KOs), 25, of Ramona, California, in an eight-rounder; and Jersey City, New Jersey, light heavyweight Khalil Coe (3-0-1, 2 KOs), 25, against Joaquin Berroa Lugo (3-0, 2 KOs), 26, of the Dominican Republic, in a six-rounder.
Heavyweight contender Otto Wallin (24-1, 14 KOs), 31, a southpaw from Sweden, whose only loss was a competitive decision to Tyson Fury in Las Vegas in 2019, pounded out a lopsided decision win over Rydell Booker (26-6-1, 13 KOs), 41, of Detroit, on Thursday night in the main event of the Salita Promotions card at Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in Dearborn, Michigan. Wallin, who won his fourth fight in a row, won 100-90, 99-91 and 99-91. “It’s my first time in Michigan and I really enjoyed it,” Wallin said. “Fury forgot about me. He doesn’t want to fight, but I’m still going to be the next heavyweight champion from Sweden, no matter who I have to beat.”
Show and tell
Johnny Tapia, a tortured soul with a sweet side, was a longtime fan favorite who made himself into a Hall of Famer despite a constant struggle with drug addiction and mental health issues. Tapia boxed professionally from 1988 to 2011, won five world titles in three weight divisions — junior bantamweight, bantamweight and featherweight — and usually put on an entertaining show despite the constant turmoil he was in. He was at his best at junior bantamweight, where he is arguably the best in division history. He made 13 title defenses in the division, including the biggest win of his career, a decision in a unification bout with bitter hometown Albuquerque, New Mexico, rival Danny Romero. Tapia also had two memorable battles with Paulie Ayala, both of which he lost by disputed decision. He won his final title in 2002 in New York, where I was ringside when he outpointed Manuel Medina for a featherweight belt.
Tapia, who I loved and got to know bit over the years, was only 45 when he died on May 27, 2012 — 10 years ago on Friday. Here is a cool card of his in my collection. It is from the March 1997 issue of Japan’s World Boxing magazine. From 1996 to 1999, each issue contained a four-card panel on thin card stock. Each panel typically contained cards of two Japanese boxers, one of an active star and one of a retired legend.
Davis-Romero photo: Amanda Westcott/Showtime; Russell Sr. photo: PBC
To upgrade your subscription please go here: https://danrafael.substack.com/subscribe
Thank you so much for your support of Fight Freaks Unite!
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danrafael1/
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanRafael1
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanRafaelBoxing
Anyone know if Ortiz will be fighting at 147? I thought he was moving up.
Davis clearly the better fighter, all Romero has is natural size advantage and has to hope he lands one big shot. otherwise i see Davis winning probably by mid to late stoppage.