At The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Venezuela’s Ismael Barroso (25-4-2, 23 KOs) proved he still has much to give by demolishing Ohara “Two Tanks” Davies (25-3, 18 KOs) at 1:33 of the first round.
The victory gave Barroso the WBA’s interim-junior welterweight world championship.
The 40-year-old Barroso, viewed by many observers as an old man, was being pursued by Davies from the opening bell – and that proved to be a big mistake for the Brit.
Barroso badly rocked him with a big hook and very quickly put him down hard with a follow-up barrage. A moment later, Barroso battered him with big punches for a second knockdown. Davies beat the count, but he was out on his feet and the referee decided to wave off the fight.
“When I started boxing, they told me that I have a lot of power, and with God on my side I have that power.” said Barroso. “When I threw the first punch, I knew I had hurt him, I knew that I had him.”
After the fight, Barroso called for the rematch with full champion Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero, who was sitting at ringside to watch the fight. Romero came over to Barroso’s corner to congratulate him on the big knockout win.
Last May, Romero was down on all three of the official cards when he secured a controversial seventh round stoppage of Barroso.
Pursuant to a WBA order, Romero is now mandated to face Barroso in a rematch. And a deal should not be hard to make with both boxers working under the Premier Boxing Champions umbrella.
“The public has been calling for the fight with Romero, and I just want to say, I’m right here,” Barroso said.