Sudden knockdown awakens Namauu in TKO over Davis

Henry Namauu was embarrassed.

The cruiserweight from UNLV was dominating Chad Davis when he got careless and walked into a straight right hand in the third round of their eight-round fight Friday night at the Rio.

Namauu was able to get up and resume beating Davis, and referee Tony Weeks stopped the fight 1:40 into the sixth round. The technical knockout in the Crown Boxing main event was the fourth in a row for Namauu (7-3).

“I was upset with myself,” he said of the knockdown. “Anytime something like that happens, it’s like, ‘Oh, man, he dropped me. I gotta get up.’ I cleared my head and I went back to what I was doing.”

What Namauu was doing was winning easily, as he did in 2008 when he beat Davis in Primm in a four-round unanimous decision. Namauu had Davis in trouble early Friday, rocking him with an overhand right midway through the first round, but couldn’t finish him off.

Forty seconds into the third round, Namauu got sloppy and Davis’ straight right hand put him on the canvas. Namauu recovered quickly, landing some good shots in the round. In the fourth, he tagged Davis with two big rights after Davis had landed a solid left.

In the sixth, Namauu survived an early onslaught and landed a couple of rights that staggered Davis. Namauu stayed on the attack and Weeks stepped in, to the surprise of the winner.

“I thought (Davis) could have gone a little longer,” Namauu said. “But it’s the referee’s decision, and you’ve got to respect it.”

Weeks said he thought Davis (2-6) could no longer defend himself.

“He was getting tired and taking a lot of punishment,” the referee said. “I felt it was the right time to stop the fight.”

Namauu admitted the fight wasn’t his best from a technical standpoint. But he thought it was a test of his courage to get off the deck and regain control. Entering the sixth round, all three judges had him winning 48-46.

“He got me with a good shot,” Namauu said. “But I wasn’t going to let that stop me. He was better this time than the first time. But I think I was better, too.”

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.