Liverpool KO Revenge in Spades! Davies Stops Syrowatka in 12th, Regains WBA Title
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Liverpool KO revenge in spades! Liverpool, United Kingdom’s Robbie Davies Jr. became the first World Boxing Association Continental Super Lightweight champion ever to regain his regional WBA title with a twelfth round stoppage of Michal Syowatka in Liverpool on March 31, 2018. Davies dropped Syowatka in the third, fourth, and twelfth rounds to earn the stoppage win.
On July 17, 2017, at Wembley Arena in London, Syrowatka came off the canvas in the ninth round to drop Davies with a left hook in the twelfth round to win the WBA title.
Turnaround rematches are rarer these days, but not unknown. For a fighter to lose in the twelfth round, and then come back to win in the twelfth round is quite extraordinary indeed. Davies, 16-1 with 12 knockouts, and Syrowatka, 19-2 with 12 knockouts, Elk, Poland, were evenly matched both times.
In the rematch, Davies switched off from orthodox to a southpaw stance, doing his homework, even scoring his fourth-round knockdown from the southpaw stance. Ring generalship and a better work rate reversed the tide for Davies in an even Steven rematch. Ironically, Syromatka is no stranger to rematches, having lost to Polish compatriot and ring veteran Rafael Jackiewicz in 2015 in Poland by stoppage, then winning the rematch with Jackiewicz in 2016 by 10 round decision four months later.
32-0 Terence Crawford, who holds the WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF World Super Lightweight titles, is stepping up to fight 16-0-1 Jeff Horn for Horn’s WBO World Welterweight title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 9, 2018. If Crawford wins, his 140 pounds world titles, including the WBA world title, would be vacated. Davies, who is currently ranked fifth by the World Boxing Association in its worldwide rankings with the win in the rematch over Syrowatka, could be in the mix for a shot at the WBA vacant world title in Crawford wins, or could be in line for a WBA shot at Crawford later in 2018 Crawford loses to Horn. In event of a Crawford versus Horn draw, both men keep their respective titles.
COMMENTS
English