Davis knocks out Ruiz in first round

Gervonta Davis made short work of his late notice opponent.

Former super bantamweight titleholder Hugo Ruiz jumped up to 130 pounds on short notice to take a crack at titleholder Gervonta Davis, and things went like many expected, as Davis dropped and stopped Ruiz at the end of the first round.

Davis (21-0, 20 KO) looked his usual destructive self against this level of opposition, and appeared as though he may have broken Ruiz’s nose with a punch before the Mexican challenger went down in the corner. The finishing punch was a right hook, with Ruiz giving a delayed reaction before going down.

Ruiz did get up, but referee Jack Reiss observed and decided he was in no shape to continue, calling a stop to the fight. Ruiz didn’t seem particularly inclined to continue, either.

Ruiz (39-5, 33 KO) stepped in to replace Abner Mares in this bout after Mares suffered a detached retina in training. The 32-year-old Ruiz had just fought a couple of weeks ago, beating Alberto Guevara on the Pacquiao-Broner undercard.

With the win, Davis retains his WBA “super world” super featherweight title.

Speaking with Showtime’s Jim Gray after the fight, Davis said, “My main goal tonight was to make a great performance, which I did. I’m very confident that I will be more active this year. I have three, probably four fights lined up this year.” He added that he wants his next fight to be at home in Baltimore.