Gervonta Davis & Vasyl Lomachenko Fight Previews, Tips, Odds & Predictions

Deemed as one of the hottest prospects in boxing for a long time now, Gervonta Davis has built up a reputation for being one of the fiercest punchers on the planet accumulating 23 stoppage wins from his 24 fights with his only points victory coming back in 2014 against German Meraz.

After winning his first world title at 130lbs back in 2017 claiming a stoppage victory over Jose Pedraza for the IBF title, Davis went on to win the WBA world title at the same weight before making the step up to lightweight to defeat Yuriorkis Gamboa for the WBA world lightweight title and then stepping back down to super feather to defend his WBA title with a showreel one punch knock out of Leo Santa Cruz last time out.

His opponent here is the far lesser known of the two. Unbeaten in 26 outings as a professional to date, Barrios doesn't really have a massive name on his record as of yet but he has proven himself to be a long, destructive, hard hitting counter puncher against the opponents that have been put in front of him. He'll certainly have the size advantage in this fight too with the five inch height advantage and the four inch reach advantage which could ultimately be crucial.

In essence, this is a weird fight. There's much bigger fights for Davis at super feather and most notably lightweight with the likes of Teofimo Lopez, Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney & Loma all very much at the top of their game. He has clear intentions of being a three weight world champ and victory here will make him just that but really, the regular title he's fighting for isn't exactly a world title with Josh Taylor currently holding the crown as the real WBA champ at super lightweight.

If this was at lightweight you'd be looking at this as a mismatch, but the size difference between the pair may make it a little more interesting. Also, Barrios has one of the most highly respected trainers in the game in his corner in the shape of Virgil Hunter who famously guided Andre Ward to Olympic Gold along with becoming a two weight world champ in the pro ranks. There is big questions to be answered. Will 'Tank' be able to carry his power up to 140lbs? Will he be able to take a shot off a much bigger man? We believe he'll do both and expect him to start quickly and look to get the job done early on as Barrios will undoubtedly be aiming to keep the fight at range for as long as possible.

Prediction: Gervonta Davis by KO/TKO/DQ in rounds 1-6 - Best priced 21/10 @ Betfair & Paddy Power

Now for the return of arguably one of the greatest amateur boxers if not THEE greatest amateur boxer of our generation and comfortably one of the greatest professional boxers of this era.

A record of 397 victories with one loss as an amateur, a loss in which he avenged twice after, Vasyl Lomachenko is by a long way one of the most aesthetically pleasing boxers on the planet. He was a world champion at featherweight after just three, yes THREE, bouts and then he became a two weight world champion after just seven fights and then a three weight world champion after just 12 fights. A career that simply any young boxer could only dream of.

However for the first time since his controversial split decision loss to Orlando Salido in his second professional, Loma suffered defeat last time out at the hands of the up and coming star of the 135 division Teofimo Lopez in a pretty much one sided contest.

The Ukranian just never found his rhythm in the fight and was outpunched, outworked and outclassed by the much younger man so in his first fight since that loss, he'll be looking to remind people that he's still a force to be reckoned with.

Nakatani meanwhile has had a much quieter career as a pro. Finally fighting outside of Japan in his 19th fight, he suffered a convincing points to defeat to Lomachenko's nemesis Lopez before producing one of the comebacks of 2020 to stop Felix Verdejo when been well behind on the cards having been dropped twice in the earlier rounds.

A rangy pressure fighter, it's a smart move by Lomachenko's promoters as this sort of style should the Ukranian to a tee. Expect Loma to find his feet and rhythm early on in the fight and to use that footwork and hand speed to negate the Nakatani's long stiff jab and to ultimately land shots from angles that Nakatani didn't even know existed.

Much is being spoken about of the "four kings" in the lightweight division so Loma needs to put in a dominant performance here to remind the younger kings that they are still simply the heirs to his throne as the best lightweight on the planet.

Prediction: Vasyl Lomachaneko to win by decision - Best priced 11/10 at Paddy Power