After months of training, waiting and campaigning for his big opportunity, Ohara Davies’ American adventure came to a dramatic ending after just 113 seconds in Las Vegas last night.

A beautifully timed left hand from Venezuelan veteran, Ismael Barroso, floored Davies heavily barely a minute into their WBA interim super lightweight title fight. Davies scrambled to his feet but found himself on the canvas again just seconds later as an inspired Barroso seized his moment.

A clearly dazed Davies was upright but unresponsive when referee, Celestino Ruiz, correctly stopped the action but after returning to his hotel room and watching a replay of the fight, the 31 year old Londoner understood exactly what had gone wrong. 

“I’ve watched the fight back and I made a mistake. I rushed in when I shouldn’t have rushed in,” he said on social media. “I should’ve been a bit more patient but it was a mistake I made and I paid for it. At this level you can’t afford to make certain mistakes.

“I paid for it in a big way. My pride’s really hurt right now. I thought I was going to go to bed being the champion. I planned to take the belt to bed, sleep with it, take it home and get it framed up and put on the wall. This isn’t happening. My pride’s very hurt.

“What can I do but just take some time off and come back stronger? This ain’t gonna be the end of me.”

Davies revealed that a range of big names including Nonito Donaire and Rolando Romero approached him after the fight to offer him moral support but will have his thoughts for company on the long flight home from Las Vegas. Any defeat can be difficult to come back from but this will sting particularly badly. Davies has had plenty of ups and downs throughout his ten years as a professional fighter. He has dispensed with the pantomime villain alter ego he adopted early in his career and has patiently worked hard to re-establish himself at world level after suffering defeats to Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall. 

Things finally seemed to be on an upward trajectory. Golden Boy threw their weight behind him this week and there would have been big nights and big fights in his future had he beaten Barroso. Things couldn’t have gone more badly and Davies will have to rebuild all over again.

“I’m still very disappointed that I’m not going to bed as the champion. I worked very hard for this fight,” he said. “I worked very hard this camp. I’ve done sparring with the best fighters. I had really good spars in the gym. I trained for months and months and months and the fight lasted a minute and a half because I got caught with a good shot. 

“It’s all about how you come back. I’m not gonna let this hold me down. What more can I say? I can’t let this hold me down. I’ve gotta come back stronger.”