ATLANTA – Leonard Ellerbe expected Yuriorkis Gamboa to give Gervonta Davis a tougher fight than most people anticipated.

Even Ellerbe was surprised, though, that the game Gamboa was still standing entering the final round of their WBA world lightweight title fight Saturday night at State Farm Arena. Davis knocked down Gamboa in the second and eighth rounds, and appeared on the verge several times of finishing his 38-year-old opponent before they reached the 12th round.

Davis viciously dropped Gamboa again in the 12th, this time with a left uppercut. Referee Jack Reiss immediately waved an end to their fight once Gamboa hit the canvas a third time, 1:17 into the 12th round.

The Cuban-born Gamboa (30-3, 18 KOs) has been knocked down 17 times in 33 professional fights and has lost by technical knockout three times. He didn’t go away without a fight, however, against a powerful southpaw who had knocked out all but one of his pro opponents before a main event Showtime televised.

Ellerbe expressed respect for the aged veteran, who stated that he suffered an Achilles’ injury in the second round that hindered him for most of their fight.

“Gamboa took a lot of punishment,” Ellerbe, CEO for Mayweather Promotions, told BoxingScene.com. “I was really surprised that he was able to withstand the amount of punishment that he did, you know, through the rounds. But again, he wasn’t an Olympic gold medalist and a unified world champion for no reason at all. He has a tremendous amount of experience and it showed tonight. But again, we’re very, very proud of Tank and his efforts tonight. On to the next.”

Baltimore’s Davis revealed after winning his 14th straight bout by knockout that he anticipated the toughest fight of his career from the 2004 Olympic gold medalist. Odds-makers listed Davis as a 20-1 favorite to beat Gamboa, but the experienced ex-champion took Davis (23-0, 22 KOs) beyond the ninth round for the first time since he turned pro in February 2013.

“I had him hurt throughout the fight,” said Davis, who made his debut as a full-fledged lightweight. “But he showed that he was a tough opponent. It was shots that I was hurting him with that I knew he was hurt, and he was wobbling. But somehow, he was still moving his head. That’s how I knew I wasn’t in the ring with no regular guy. I was in there with somebody [with] top experience.” 

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.