Next fight set for Baltimore’s Davis
Debut at 135 pounds will come against Gamboa
Gervonta Davis will make his debut in the 135-pound weight class with a Dec. 28 showdown against Yuriorkis Gamboa, according to a report by The Athletic.
Though a representative for Davis denied to comment Thursday, the matchup with Gamboa has been heavily rumored since the Baltimore native vacated his World Boxing Association super featherweight title last month. Davis re-tweeted several posts reporting the December date with Gamboa.
The report said Atlanta, where Davis periodically lives and trains, is the favorite to host the fight, which would be broadcast on Showtime.
Gamboa (30-2) knocked out Roman “Rocky” Martinez on the undercard of Davis’ last title defense in Baltimore. The 2004 Olympic gold medalist (for Cuba) was considered a rising star in the sport before he lost to Terence Crawford in 2014. From there, he fought less frequently and lost momentum. But he looked impressive in his second-round stoppage of the faded Martinez and said after the fight he wanted a matchup with Davis.
Davis (22-0 with 21 knockouts) defended his 130-pound title before a raucous, sellout crowd at Royal Farms Arena on July 27. His second-round knockout of Ricardo Nunez was his second successful defense of the title he won in April 2018.
After the homecoming victory, Davis and promoter Floyd Maywether Jr. said they wanted a 130-pound unification fight with Tevin Farmer. But that bout proved difficult to make because Farmer is co-promoted by Eddie Hearn and fights on the steaming channel DAZN, while Davis is affiliated with Premier Boxing Champions and fights on Showtime.
Davis has said his decision to move up in weight has nothing to do with his past difficulties on the scale. He lost his first world title in Aug. 2017, when he failed to make the 130-pound limit for his fight against Francisco Fonseca. But he made weight for his recent defense against Nunez with no apparent difficulty and has said he could fight at 130 pounds again if the right match-up comes together.
Kisner’s return
Glen Burnie professional boxer “Slick” Nick Kisner (21-4-1, 6 knockouts) returns to the ring this Friday night at the Maryland Live Casino in Hanover. Kisner, 28, will be facing D.C. native Danny Kelly (9-3-1, 8 knockouts) in a six-round contest that will serve as the co-feature bout on the card.
Kisner will be competing in his second straight heavyweight bout after previously holding the World Boxing Association U.S. cruiserweight title. In his last fight back in April, Kisner faced then-unbeaten Swedish heavyweight contender Otto Wallin at the famed Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City in a bout televised on Showtime.
That fight was declared a no-contest at the end of the first when Kisner could no longer continue due to a cut above his eye from a clash of heads. Wallin went on to face heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury in his next fight, which took place on September 14 in Las Vegas. The Swede gave the heavily favored champion all he could handle but ultimately lost by decision to the behemoth Brit.
Despite having double the amount of professional fights as Kelly, the 2009 Old Mill grad knows it will be a tough fight. Kelly has scored knockouts in all but one of his wins and has never been stopped in his three losses while facing much bigger men than Kisner.
Kelly’s last four wins have all been by first-round knockout, and his last two losses were to undefeated opponents. “Danny is a very good fighter, who has been in with the best. I am still definitely a natural cruiserweight and I expect a hard fight but I’m ready for it,” Kisner said.
The life-long Maryland resident looks forward to facing another local fighter and adding another chapter in the Baltimore-D.C. “Battle of the Beltway” rivalry in professional sports alongside the Ravens-Redskins and Orioles-Nationals. “There has always been a rivalry between Maryland and D.C., and this will go down as another chapter,” Kisner said.