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Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Rolando “Rolly” Romero are set for a battle of guys whose nicknames are very important to their marketing on Saturday night, with the fight airing live on Showtime pay-per-view from Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
Davis (26-0, 24 KO) is the heavy betting favorite, but Romero (14-0, 12 KO) is full of confidence and has some believing he’s gotten into Tank’s head leading up to the fight.
Will we see another big upset in boxing, or does Davis roll to victory as he leaves Mayweather Promotions behind?
Scott Christ (27-16)
The guy who was gifted a win over Jackson Marirez being the one to beat Gervonta Davis, before Davis can ever have that truly big-time fight, is such a funny idea that I can’t help but entertain it. I also don’t think ol’ Roll-E is totally in the wrong in some of his criticism — Davis does have defensive lapses, Davis has fought some under-sized guys, and he’s not shown at 135 or 140 (this is at 135) what he did at 130, just on the eye test alone.
And can’t you just see it in your mind, even if it’s a nightmare for you? A victorious Rolando Romero, defying the odds, screaming in triumph, having told everyone what he was going to do. Everyone forced to admit they were wrong. Romero not “getting his big mouth shut,” but getting a pass to make it even bigger for his next fight.
Far crazier upsets have happened.
But I also think Davis is so far beyond Romero in skill that he’s going to dice him up. I don’t think Tank will run on emotion once the bell rings. I believe he’s going to take this guy apart with speed, timing, and skills. Yeah, other guys have hit Tank — they also weren’t as slow and predictable as Romero. They all had better all-around boxing skills than Romero. Romero could nail him with a big shot, sure. It could happen. But he has no other chance here. Davis TKO-5
Wil Esco (31-12)
Scott isn’t the only one who knows how to throw caution to the wind, you know! It’s my time to swing for the fences, and it’s partly because this is a fight that I’m certain the rest of the staff is going to roll with Tank, and partly because I think Rolly at least has a path to victory that most Tank opponents haven’t.
I would go into the peer reviewed research demonstrating how Rolly’s legendary bone density gives him otherworldly strength, but Coach Bullet wasn’t able to get me the copyright clearance in time. So I guess I’m just going to have to dumb it down for you all in laymans terms: Rolly rolls on Tank!
Now obviously this might not be the most likely scenario, but whatever you make of Rolly, the man isn’t feigning his confidence. Rolly truly believes he’s going to crush Tank, and that kind of self-belief can be a powerful thing. Rolly’s also not wrong that Tank, although a very gifted fighter, can be hit and in this one he’s going to be up against a fighter who’s both willing and capable of roughing him up with the kind of physicality he hasn’t been matched against in a professional fight. And because these two fighters genuinely don’t like one another, I don’t think Tank is going to fight a disciplined boxing match the whole way through, so once he engages with Rolly — anything can happen in an exchange. I think this fight has the makings to be a Broner-Maidana affair where the awkward and powerful fighter gives fits to the stylist. Rolly shakes Tank up early in the fight, and Tank is never able to recover his legs enough to keep Rolly off of him. Why the hell not?! Romero TKO-4
John Hansen (34-9)
Tank Davis is currently facing jail time in two different states for criminal charges that appear to include video evidence of his guilt. And still, Rolly Romero somehow manages to act so obnoxious and off-putting that he makes Davis seem likable by comparison.
It’s the only interesting aspect of this matchup. Davis is a certified power threat, a two-division secondary champion and possibly the No. 1 pound-for-pound secondary fighter in all of boxing.
Meanwhile, Rolly Romero lost to Jackson Marinez.
If you see value in burning $75 to see Rolly Romero get goomed, spend your money accordingly. I’m sure PBC, Showtime, Floyd Mayweather, and the defense attorneys for Gervonta Davis will all be grateful for your financial support. Davis TKO-4
Patrick Stumberg (33-10)
There are certain weasel words that promotional outlets and commentators use to try and legitimize outmatched opponents; “unorthodox,” “veteran,” etc. For Rolando Romero, the peanut gallery appears to have settled on “awkward,” which is frankly an insult to the genuinely elite oddballs out there. Actually effective awkwardness demands a thorough understanding of the fundamentals you’re shirking so that you’re maximizing the opportunities and minimizing the drawbacks that result from abandoning the orthodox approach.
Loading up on your shots, never protecting your face, and moving around like a particularly inept gangster misinterpreted his boss’s orders and filled your shoes with cement doesn’t make you awkward. It just makes you incompetent. Davis KO-3
Quick Picks!
Erislandy Lara vs Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan
- Scott: Lara TKO-6
- Wil: Lara UD-12
- John: Lara UD-12
- Patrick: Lara UD-12
Jesus Ramos vs Luke Santamaria
- Scott: Ramos UD-10
- Wil: Ramos TKO-6
- John: Ramos UD-10
- Patrick: Ramos TKO-8
Eduardo Ramirez vs Luis Melendez
- Scott: Ramirez UD-10
- Wil: Ramirez UD-10
- John: Melendez TKO-8
- Patrick: Ramirez TKO-7
Listen to our Davis vs Romero preview and more on this week’s podcast!
If the embeddable player doesn’t show or work for you, we are on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon/Audible, Google, iHeart, Deezer, and several other apps! You can also directly download the MP3 here. There is NSFW language.
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