Even with a last-minute replacement opponent and almost losing his title on the scales, Gervonta Davis is still the WBA "Super" champion at 130 pounds.
In the main event of a Showtime-televised card from Carson, California, Davis knocked out Hugo Ruiz in the first round to retain his title. The fight was Davis' first title defense since winning the belt last year to become a two-time world champion.
Davis came out to the ring with a special entrance highlighted by Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and would later go on to thrill the audience with his world-class speed and power. Davis pressured Ruiz to the corner in the first round and threw a flurry of punches, eventually breaking Ruiz's guard. Davis dropped Ruiz with a vicious body shot and although the challenger got back up, he was unable to continue fighting, giving Davis the victory.
After the fight, Davis said he wanted to get more rounds in, but knew with a quick victory, he would be able to return to the ring sooner. Davis has previously stated that he wanted to fight multiple times in 2019 after fighting once in 2018, which has been a point of criticism from many as the 24-year-old Davis was healthy all throughout last year to fight.
“I knew it was coming. I wanted to go more rounds, but I knew if I got him out of there early I could fight again sooner. When I touched the jab I saw his arm was in front of his face so if I threw a hook or uppercut it was right in line,” Davis said.
The last two weeks were an eventful one for Davis. Davis was originally supposed to face former three-division champion Abner Mares, but Mares had to withdraw due to a detached retina. Ruiz came in to replace Mares and was fighting for the second time in three weeks as Ruiz fought on the pay-per-view card for Manny Pacquiao's welterweight title defense against Adrien Broner on January 19.
More drama ensued on the day before the fight as Davis was slightly overweight when he arrived late at the scales. After barely missing weight in his first two attempts, Davis eventually managed to make the championship weight and was able to keep his world title and successfully defend it.
