Ohara Davies has no intention of biding his time after suffering arguably the most brutal loss of his career.

The 140-pound contender from England came up way short last Saturday night against Ismael Barroso, getting knocked out by the Venezuelan veteran in the opening round of their scheduled 12-round bout at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.

Davies, 31, lunged with a right hand, but the southpaw Barroso immediately connected with a counter left, dropping Davies, who would never recover from that shot. Davies would go down again, before the referee halted the bout.

The fight had major implications for both fighters, as the winner now positions himself to challenge WBA champion Rolando Romero. Davies was regarded as a 5-1 favorite by most sportsbooks heading into Saturday’s contest against Barroso.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Davies indicated that he told his manager, Lee Eaton, to secure him a fight against a top-rated contender, such as Jose Ramirez or Regis Prograis, in May. Both Ramirez and Davies are promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, while Prograis is backed by Matchroom Boxing. Both Golden Boy and Matchroom have separate content deals with DAZN.

“I’ve told Lee that I'm not interested in rebuilding fights, if I can’t compete with the best then I’m washed up and will sit down and watch [Adam Azim] or Dalton Smith take the throne - next fight I'd like Ramirez, Regis, somebody on this level.....I’m ready in early May,” Davies wrote.

Davies’ only previous losses were to former undisputed 140-pound champion Josh Taylor and contender Jack Catterall.

For the 40-year-old Barroso, it’s a step closer to getting revenge on Romero, whose ninth-round, technical stoppage win last May at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas was highly disputed. The WBA has ordered Romero to fight the winner of Barroso vs. Davies by March 20.

Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.