Gervonta Davis (28-0, 26 KO) packed almost 20,000 fans into the Capital One Arena on Saturday night, the latest stop on a coast to coast tour that has seen Davis become one of US boxing's biggest attractions.

In the end, Davis delivered what ticket buyers came to see. Only two men have made it the distance with the man better known as “Tank.” That number didn’t grow on Saturday as Davis steadily upped his offense and eventually forced 31-year old WBA Jr. lightweight titlist Hector Garcia (16-1, 10 KO) to retire in his corner prior to the ninth round. 

It was a long night, the main event starting at close to 1 AM EST, but one where the crowd was part of the story. It was literally packed to the rafters with stars from the world of sports and music easy to find in the crowd even before Meek Mill and the boxing Russell brothers had a contentious ringside moment that actually halted the action in the main event during round eight. 

It was a night where the crowd arrived early, decked out to the nines, punctuated by a power finish. Davis wins his fourth fight against a fighter ranked top ten in their division by TBRB and/or Ring in his last five, with one fighter each from the four divisions between featherweight and Jr. welterweight. 

Davis, who often starts slow, creates the appearance opponents are doing better than they are. The first half of the fight was close but then Davis mastered the distance and timing of Garcia and the bombs started to fly. Garcia might have been able to continue in the ninth but checkmate was achieved in the final minute of the eighth. 

A different Garcia awaits.

Futures: Davis now moves on to what could end up the richest fight of 2023, a showdown with Ryan Garcia. If one doesn’t regard Davis’s secondary belt at lightweight as a legitimate world title, and one shouldn’t, it’s as big a non-title fight as boxing has had in years. For all his ticket sales, Davis has yet to find the opponent that takes his pay-per-view numbers stratospheric.

Ryan Garcia might be that opponent. The winner is firmly planted as the central rainmaker of this era around lightweight and Jr. welterweight. Davis already has a case for that but when pay-per-view numbers combine with gate appeal, it’s a different level of stardom. That’s when the money gets so big that streets get crossed because percentages matter less than nets. 

A big fight is coming. On the undercard, we got a look at some fighters with big fight dreams still over the horizon.   

Ennis Won and That’s Enough for Today

25-year old Jarron Ennis (29-0, 27 KO) may be the future of the welterweight division but the future might not be quite here yet. That’s not a bad thing. Ennis went past six rounds, all the way to a final bell for twelve, for the first time against a tricky and only occasionally engaging opponent in 26-year old Karen Chukhadzhian (21-2, 11 KO). It wasn’t entertaining but Ennis got a lot of tape to work from and that will have its value.

Futures: Ennis has drawn comparisons to some big names on his way up with many declaring him the heir apparent to Errol Spence and Terence Crawford. That may be the case but Saturday won’t build momentum for that argument. It makes a case for needing another fight or two and after the least active year of his career Ennis should take that as an opportunity. He’s an excellent talent and even the best have nights where the wrong style makes for an ugly outing. 

At least he won because one fight before… 

It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over

Twelve rounds is a long time. 

In an eight or even ten round affair, 29-year old Rashidi Ellis (24-1-1, 15 KO) is still undefeated. Ellis built a big lead, boxing and moving and seemingly cruising…until he wasn’t. 29-year old Roiman Villa (26-1, 24 KO) kept coming all night, chipping away a shot or two at a time. Then it started to be a shot or three in round nine and drama ensued. Villa won the ninth and tenth with bruising shots but looked nearly out of time with three minutes to go.

Three minutes was just enough.

Villa dropped Ellis hard and then walked him down for a second knockdown with a few ticks left in the frame to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. It was a moment reminiscent of the wild final round of Jorge Paez-Calvin Grove and reminded that every fight is a collection of unique rounds and subject to change at any time. 

Futures: Villa is a step closer to a mandatory crack at the IBF welterweight title after winning this encounter. The rugged Villa showed Saturday that he might be vulnerable but his determination will make him worth watching going forward. Is he a threat to Errol Spence or Terence Crawford? That seems unlikely but Villa will make good fights with plenty of welterweights and probably Jr. middleweights for the next few years. 

Ellis, plagued by inactivity for the last four years, got in some needed rounds even if the outcome was disappointing. He’s still more than young enough to rebound but he can’t let any more time be wasted.

The PPV card opened with a debut in the super middleweight division.   

Andrade Continues to Win…Is That Enough?

It’s been almost fifteen years since now-34-year old Demetrius Andrade (32-0, 19 KO) exited the Olympic quarterfinals with many in the sport speculating that he was on his way to stardom in the professional ranks. It hasn’t happened and Saturday’s win against 29-year old Demond Nicholson (26-5-1, 22 KO) was the latest example of why.

Andrade came out of the blocks hard, scored a knockdown, and overcame what should have been a flash knockdown against him. For the first half of the fight, Andrade looked focused and fiery and both men were talking trash to each other.

Then it sort of just kept going without much happening for lengthy stretches until Andrade scored a knockdown in the final round. It didn’t feel like the sort of fight that will have fans beating down the doors to see Andrade again soon. After all these years it might be only his win over Willie Nelson that really accomplished that. 

Futures: Andrade remains physically talented, well schooled, and a hard night for anyone in what is now his third weight class. Having won belts at Jr. middleweight and middleweight already, he’s got to be instantly considered a threat to anyone at super middleweight. Andrade won this Showtime affair going away and that’s the most important thing when one considers that Showtime opens avenues to the Caleb Plant-David Benavidez winner and maybe even a rising in weight Jermall Charlo.

Of course, being on DAZN theoretically opened avenues to Saul Alvarez, Gennadiy Golovkin, or at least Jamie Munguia. None of that happened. The sand is slipping through the hourglass and forty will soon be close than thirty. Andrade has to hope this is the move that finally ends with a big name opponent. If not that immediately, could an Andrade-David Morrell fight be possible? It would be a high risk fight for both men but the sort of risk fans would respect with the potential for demand for more for the victor. 

Andrade-Nicholson was the first fight on the PPV side of the show. In an early undercard that featured wins for Brandon Lee, Vito Mielnicki, and Trayvon Marshall, it was a loss that stood out.    

A Sad Return

Boxing is never short on sad endings.

Before “Tank,” the reliable fighting force in the DMV was Lamont Peterson. From a wild, controversial title win over Amir Khan in 2011 through a brutal war with Sergey Lipinets in 2019, Peterson headlined five major shows in the area. He didn't win them all but when Peterson was on the marquee, it was almost certain fans were going to get their money’s worth. Saturday was different. 

With just a smattering of fans in the arena, the 38-year old former Jr. welterweight titlist Peterson (35-6-1, 17 KO) fought in the fourth slot on the twelve-fight card, his first appearance in almost four years. Matched with a .500 fighter in Michael Ogundo (17-16, 14 KO), it was a chance for Peterson to see if there was anything left.

For a couple of rounds, it looked like there might be. Those couple rounds were all he had. Peterson was hurt in the third; dropped and stopped in the fourth. For a fighter who gave so much of himself to the area, it was easy to ponder whether it was better than so few were there live to see it. If Peterson just needed to find out, one last time, if it was over then we can hope he got an answer that contributes better to a long and healthy future. 

After an excellent career, Peterson earned the right to find out on his terms. It didn’t make it easy to watch.     

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, a member of the International Boxing Research Organization, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com