By: Sean Crose
It looked as if the two fighters would never meet. After all, lightweight contender Rolando Romero had been accused of sexual mistreatment by more than one woman, which had put the kabash on his scheduled December battle against WBA lightweight titlist Gervonta “Tank” Davis. Since that time late last year, however, Romero has not been officially charged with any crime. Therefore, the WBA is once again ordering he and Davis to to meet in the ring for Davis’ title. “The World Boxing Association (WBA) Championships Committee” the organization posted on social media Monday, “(has) ordered the lightweight world title fight between champion Gervonta Davis and mandatory challenger Rolando Romero #DavisRomero.”
Romero, who is ranked as the number one contender for Davis’ strap, boasts a record of 14-0 with most of his wins having come by knockout. Then again, none of those wins were against big name competition. The 26-0 Davis, on the other hand is being situated for stardom. Although he faces accusations of not fighting the best out there (as do pretty much all of the top fighters in his general weight realm), Davis is unquestionably in possession of a razor sharp talent. Fast and exceedingly hard hitting, the man is known to ooze skill.
Davis’ last fight, however, proved to be a real challenge for the Baltimore native. Isaac Cruz wasn’t seen as a dud by many people, but few probably expected to battle Davis as effectively as he did in their December battle. Davis walked away with the decision win, but didn’t show the kind of dominance fans were used to seeing. Any top fighter can find himself in a rough match, but Davis is very much a modern attraction. In other words – he doesn’t fight all that often, which means it sticks when he doesn’t perform as expected.
No matter. It’s going to be quite hard for anyone to not see Davis coming in as a favorite for this one. Romero’s last fight was a 7th round stoppage of Anthony Yigit back in July. An outspoken personality, Romero knows how to draw attention, which can be just as effective a promotional tool as an undefeated record (unfortunately). He and Davis have until the 24th of next month to come to an agreement, otherwise, the fight will go to a purse bid. Judging from recent history, fans can expect this fight to be a pay per view affair.