Saturday night in Atlanta's State Farm Arena, Gervonta Davis faced off with Yuriorkis Gamboa in the first title match hosted in the city since Evander Holyfield and Vaughn Bean fought in 1998.
It marked the lightweight debut for Davis, and before the crowd of over 14,000 gathered in the arena, he took home his first victory in the lightweight division with a KO in the 12th round with only 1:43 remaining on the clock.
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"Coming to this fight, I knew that Gamboa was a tough opponent," Davis said. "Everybody was writing him off but I knew he was a vet. As you could see in the ring, I was catching him but he was still alert. I knew he was different from any opponent I have fought before as he fought Terence Crawford."
The loss at the hands of 25-year-old Davis marks just the third one for the 38-year-old Gamboa. Davis now grabs a vacant version of the WBA’s lightweight title in this win.
"I was focused on catching him with clean shots," Davis added. "I'm hurting him but he's not going anywhere. I knew I was in a fight and was going some rounds tonight. I'm only 25 years old so I'm learning each and everyday [...] 2020 is going to be a big year," Davis said. "I'm the top dog. As you know, there's no safety on this glock so bring them on."