Gervonta Davis Beats Francisco Fonseca by Knockout on Mayweather-McGregor Card

Gervonta Davis had a chance to show that he's the future of boxing in the lead-in to the Conor McGregor-Floyd Mayweather Jr. megafight, and while he did pick up the win Saturday, it wasn't quite the crowning moment he was hoping for. 

Tank picked up an eight-round knockout win over Francisco Fonseca, but it wasn't the coronation some were expecting. Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting summarized the night for the eventual victor:

Round 1 saw the underdog Fonseca attempt to be the aggressor while Davis picked his shots. ShoStats provided the power punch stats from the first frame. Davis was the more efficient puncher in the round:

The second round saw Davis become more aggressive, opening up with combinations when each punch had bad intentions. Some shots got through, but Fonseca didn't back down and answered with some counters of his own. 

Andreas Hale of The Corner Podcast noted that Davis' pressing for the knockout could spell trouble down the line. 

As the fight progressed, Davis became more comfortable, putting his hands behind his back and taunting Fonseca. Not only did it backfire in the form of combinations from the Costa Rican, but it was also a bad look after Davis missed weight on Friday night:

With Davis continuing to look off, it was fair to wonder if Fonseca would be able to take advantage of the situation. Zane Simon of Bloody Elbow wasn't the only one wondering if Davis was going to have the cardio to turn in a finish:

Kevin McRae of Bleacher Report also voiced some concern for Davis:

Things finally turned for Davis in the eighth round as he landed a questionable looping left that appeared to have landed on the back of Fonseca's head. The punch crumbled him, and Fonseca could not answer the 10-count. 

This is only the beginning for the ultratalented Davis. The 22-year-old was the youngest American champion in the sport before missing weight and losing the opportunity to keep his IBF junior lightweight title. Davis went to Twitter to express his disappointment in losing the title:

With a dominant performance in front of what is expected to be a massive pay-per-view audience, his stock just skyrocketed despite the loss of championship status. 

With Mayweather stepping away from the sport as a fighter, his promotion company will be totally focused on finding the sport's next star and Davis isn't a bad candidate. Not only is the young fighter highly skilled, but he has an exciting style. 

Under Mayweather's tutelage, he understands the opportunity that he has to become a household name:

Davis has a great backstory as he has used boxing to rise above his circumstances growing up in inner-city Baltimore and is good on the mic. In short, he's got everything one would need to be marketed as a star.

Now he has to prove that he can do the little things like make weight and continue to show championship skills against better fighters. While Fonseca was undefeated, he hadn't faced nearly the competition that Davis faced before this fight. 

This is a setback for the Davis hype train, but it could also be the thing that makes Davis understand that he has a lot of work to do before he becomes like his mentor.