By Ricardo Lezama
The Premiere Boxing Champions (PBC) made history Saturday night at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The sold-out venue saw card headliner Gervonta “Tank” Davis remain undefeated in a TKO victory over Héctor Garcia who was unable to continue after a powerful shot to the head left him dazed after the 8th round. While Garcia provided a noteworthy performance, but his chin was tested far too many times with “Tank” eventually placing a powerful left hand shot on this head’s side to call it a night.
The event was a huge success for the PBC, as it broke the all-time gate record for the arena, earning over $5 million in ticket revenue. The fight was the first major boxing event to be held at the arena since it opened in 1997. The fight itself was an exciting one, with Davis dominating the majority of the rounds. However, Garcia was able to put up a good fight and showed a lot of heart. In the ninth round, Garcia was hurt and his corner wisely decided to stop the fight.
An Upset!
In a stunning upset, Roiman Villa of Colombia/Venezuela defeated Rashidi Ellis by majority decision in a thrilling 12-round welterweight bout. Villa was able to drop Ellis twice after beating him for, at least, 4 rounds straight. Ellis eventually slowed down enough to be caught by Villa multiple times, which culminated in a tired and depleted version of him struggling to avoid Villa’s onslaught.
The judges scored the fight 115-113, 115-113, and 114-114, giving Villa the majority decision victory.