Gervonta 'Tank' Davis dedicated his triumph over Isaac Cruz in Los Angeles to late NBA icon Kobe Bryant, following a gruelling 12-round scrap.
Davis' dedication to Bryant began in his ring walk, wearing LA Lakers colours and displaying the numbers eight and 24, which the basketball star wore.
While many expected a comfortable victory for Davis, that wasn't to be the case as Cruz put in a solid showing - having only been named in the fight with just a few weeks notice to replace Rolando Romero.
In the end, it went all the way to the judge's scorecards where Davis was named as the unanimous winner and, in his post-fight speech, paid tribute to Bryant.
“L.A., we did it for Kobe. At the beginning of the fight, he came on strong - I felt as the fight was going, he was breaking down. But I hurt my hand, so I wasn’t able to get him out of there."
Davis' victory came after he taunted Jake Paul ahead of the American social media personality's highly-anticipated fight against Tommy Fury later this month.
Asked for a prediction ahead of the bout, Davis said: "I don’t know (who will win), But I know that Jake can’t fight. He can’t fight so."
Davis' dedication to Bryant came in front of numerous NBA legends that were in attendance for the fight, including Earvin 'Magic' Johnson, Kawhi Leonard and Dwight Howard.
Bryant was tragically killed in a helicopter crash in January 2020 alongside his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and six family friends.
The incident shocked the world of basketball and sports fans across the globe, with Bryant holding legendary status in the NBA.
His honours from a 20-year career, where he played exclusively for the Lakers, include five NBA championships, with two MVP awards for the finals, 18 appearances in the NBA All-Stars and being named as the NBA's MVP in 2008.
The NBA's All-Star MVP award has now been renamed in Kobe Bryant's honour, first being won by Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard last year and then being awarded to Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2021.
