Meek Mill almost gets into a Fight with Gary Russell Jr at Gervonta Davis Bout in Washington DC
- last year
Gervonta Davis' blockbuster bout with Hector Luis Garcia was briefly overshadowed on Saturday night when rapper Meek Mill got into a fight of his own at ringside.
Davis defended his WBA world lightweight championship and continued his unbeaten record in Washington DC, but there was some drama outside the ring midway through the eighth - with the real fight even being temporarily stopped.
It has since emerged that the drama centered around US rapper Meek Mill, who revealed on social media shortly afterward that he 'almost fought' a pro boxer at ringside after a disagreement about the length of the bout.
Taking to Twitter, the 35-year-old - real name Robert Williams - wrote: 'Congratulations tank!!! I almost fought a boxer telling him this fight not going 12 rounds I missed the big bomb!!!!
'I would never let any petty shit escalate to let somebody's movie run …. I just walked away. I came to support tank and boots!!!!!! Good wins.'
It has since been reported that the aforementioned boxer Meek Mill was arguing with was Gary Russell Jr., as well as his brothers, Antonio and Gary Antuanne.
As reported by the Daily Star, sports executive Stephen Espinoza explained that the situation 'escalated due to Meek cheering for Gervonta, which Russell Jr. took issue with.'
Perhaps thankfully for Meek Mill, the argument was quickly quashed and security managed to calm things down before any punches were thrown.
Russell Jr, 34, is 31-2 in his professional career, with 18 knockouts, while his brother Gary Antonio is 19-1-1, and Gary Antuanne is 16-0 with 16 knockouts.
In the actual ring, Davis didn't take much longer to end the headline bout, with the fight lasting around a minute more when they eventually got going again.
He then celebrated in flamboyant style - climbing the ropes before backflipping onto the canvas.
Davis is now 28-0 with 26 KOs, and hands Garcia his first professional loss in his 17th fight.
'I was a little surprised but when I caught him, I knew that he was hurt and that he was hurt bad,' Davis said afterward. 'He's a fighter and I know he didn't want to show it but he was hurt.
'I feel as though I have the stuff to work on. I'm a fighter and I'm not retired so my cup is never full. I'm always willing to learn.
'I struggled a little bit because I don't fight southpaws that often but it's OK because that's part of the game.'
Garcia, for his part, said: 'When I got the shots to the head in the final round, I couldn't see anymore.'
Davis defended his WBA world lightweight championship and continued his unbeaten record in Washington DC, but there was some drama outside the ring midway through the eighth - with the real fight even being temporarily stopped.
It has since emerged that the drama centered around US rapper Meek Mill, who revealed on social media shortly afterward that he 'almost fought' a pro boxer at ringside after a disagreement about the length of the bout.
Taking to Twitter, the 35-year-old - real name Robert Williams - wrote: 'Congratulations tank!!! I almost fought a boxer telling him this fight not going 12 rounds I missed the big bomb!!!!
'I would never let any petty shit escalate to let somebody's movie run …. I just walked away. I came to support tank and boots!!!!!! Good wins.'
It has since been reported that the aforementioned boxer Meek Mill was arguing with was Gary Russell Jr., as well as his brothers, Antonio and Gary Antuanne.
As reported by the Daily Star, sports executive Stephen Espinoza explained that the situation 'escalated due to Meek cheering for Gervonta, which Russell Jr. took issue with.'
Perhaps thankfully for Meek Mill, the argument was quickly quashed and security managed to calm things down before any punches were thrown.
Russell Jr, 34, is 31-2 in his professional career, with 18 knockouts, while his brother Gary Antonio is 19-1-1, and Gary Antuanne is 16-0 with 16 knockouts.
In the actual ring, Davis didn't take much longer to end the headline bout, with the fight lasting around a minute more when they eventually got going again.
He then celebrated in flamboyant style - climbing the ropes before backflipping onto the canvas.
Davis is now 28-0 with 26 KOs, and hands Garcia his first professional loss in his 17th fight.
'I was a little surprised but when I caught him, I knew that he was hurt and that he was hurt bad,' Davis said afterward. 'He's a fighter and I know he didn't want to show it but he was hurt.
'I feel as though I have the stuff to work on. I'm a fighter and I'm not retired so my cup is never full. I'm always willing to learn.
'I struggled a little bit because I don't fight southpaws that often but it's OK because that's part of the game.'
Garcia, for his part, said: 'When I got the shots to the head in the final round, I couldn't see anymore.'