NEW YORK – Gervonta Davis proved he is a level above Rolando Romero, but Leonard Ellerbe feels Romero established himself early Sunday morning as a legitimate threat to every elite lightweight in boxing.

Romero’s power gave Davis every reason to approach him cautiously for almost six full rounds. Davis eventually landed a counter left that knocked the fight out of his rival, yet Ellerbe, Mayweather Promotions’ CEO, thinks Romero won while losing for the first time as a professional in their Showtime Pay-Per-View main event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

“Rolly Romero has nothing to hold his head down about,” Ellerbe said during their post-fight press conference. “I thought that he was fighting a very good fight. He got caught with a big shot. You know, Tank showed his experience in the fight. He was very patient and he was able to do what he needed to do to close the show.

“I can tell you right now, though, about Rolly Romero – if you can’t punch, you ain’t gonna beat that dude. He is strong as f---! I’m telling you, all the other lightweights out there, I think, you know, Rolly’s put ‘em on notice. You know, Tank Davis is on another level. He showed you why he’s one of the best fighters in the world.”

Romero was ahead of Davis on the scorecard of judge Kevin Morgan, 48-47, through five rounds. Judges Ron McNair (49-46) and Robin Taylor (48-47) had Davis ahead entering the sixth round, when Davis defeated Romero by technical knockout.

The hard-hitting Romero forced Davis to hold him after landing flush punches in both the second and fifth rounds. A tactical mistake late in the sixth round cost him, however, because Davis rocked Romero with a counter left that knocked him into the ropes, face first, and sent him to the canvas.

Romero reached his feet in time to beat referee David Fields’ count, yet Fields waved an end to their 12-round, 135-pound title fight at 2:49 of the sixth round because Fields was concerned about an unsteady Romero’s responses to his commands.

The 26-year-old Romero (14-1, 12 KOs) entered his Showtime Pay-Per-View main event versus Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) as a big underdog because the extremely confident contender hadn’t been tested by a top lightweight who can punch. In Ellerbe’s estimation, the North Las Vegas native’s performance proved that he is capable of competing with anyone in the 135-pound division.

“[He’ll] take a little time off and he’ll be back on ‘Showtime Championship Boxing.’ Trust and believe that,” Ellerbe said. “I thought he performed very well and he showed the world that, again, that he is a very strong fighter and it’s gonna be hard to beat him. Trust me. Trust me, if you can’t punch, you ain’t got no shot with Rolly. I’m telling you now. I don’t care how much skills you have, Rolly’s one of the top lightweights in the world and I’ve been saying that.”

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