WBA Lightweight Title Betting Preview: Gervonta Davis vs. Rolando Romero

Betting advice for Saturday’s WBA (regular) lightweight title bout between the heavy favorite and champion Gervonta Davis against Rolando Romero.

Author:
Doug Vazquez
Publish date:
May 27, 2022

On Saturday night in Brooklyn, up-and coming-star Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis will put his WBA (regular) lightweight title on the line against Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero.

This fight, originally scheduled for December 2021 but canceled due to sexual assault allegations against Romero (charges were not ultimately filed), will be a chance for Davis to further cement himself as a legitimate pound-for-pound contender.

Place Boxing Bets at SI Sportsbook

FILE - Gervonta Davis celebrates during a WBA Super Lightweight world championship boxing match against Mario Barrios on Sunday, June 27, 2021, in Atlanta. Gervonta Davis may have met his match when it comes to trading insults. Now it’s about trading punches, and he believes he does that far better than Rolando Romero, his opponent Saturday night when he defends his lightweight title in a matchup of unbeatens in Brooklyn. — Brynn Anderson/AP

Gervonta Davis vs. Rolando Romero

Date: Saturday, May 28, 2022
Location: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Junior lightweight: Eduardo Ramirez vs. Luis Melendez
Junior middleweight: Jesus Ramos (-1205) vs. Luke Santamaria (+700)
WBA (regular) middleweight title: Erislandy Lara (-2000) vs. Gary O’Sullivan (+1100)
WBA (regular) lightweight title: Gervonta Davis (-1205) vs. Rolando Romero (+700)

These two fighters have made their disdain and hatred for each other evident, not only leading up to Saturday’s fight but for months on end now after their original bout was canceled. Romero has made it clear his plan is to come out swinging and apply constant pressure and score the upset knockout over Davis.

Tank is coming off the toughest fight of his career where he secured an unanimous decision against Isaac Cruz, who stepped in for Romero on a month’s notice. It was only the second time in Davis’ career where the fight went to the scorecards.

Cruz countered Tank’s power throughout the fight and kept it close throughout by constantly applying pressure. Davis did injure his left hand in the sixth round, which definitely gave Cruz a brief reprieve from Tank’s devastating southpaw power.

While anything can happen in the squared circle, Tank checks every box against Romero despite surrendering some size advantage. I expect Davis to feel out Romero in the early rounds and then look for his opening somewhere towards the middle of the fight after Romero will have probably punched himself out.

With Davis’ hand fully healed I don’t expect Romero to escape a finish. While Romero is the bigger fighter with a style similar to Cruz, he is extremely reckless and Davis should be able to find an opening to put him to sleep with the left uppercut or hook.

Romero is going night-night in this one and with SI Sportsbook offering almost 2.5-1 odds (+240) for the fight to end in Rounds 4-6, its too good to pass up.