By Barry Holbrook: Devin Haney angered Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis on Sunday by calling him out by saying he’ll be ready to fight him after he takes care of his opponent Alfredo Santiago (12-0, 4 KOs) this Saturday night on November 9 in Los Angeles, CA. Haney seems VERY serious about wanting to fight Davis next, but it doesn’t look like Tank wants any of that work from him.
Tank Davis is getting a reputation for being a ‘Twitter Warrior’ for the way that he calls out different fighters on social media, but then doesn’t fight them. The fact that Davis responded to Haney’s challenge of him gives the indication to some that he’ll NEVER fight him.
The problem Davis has is he doesn’t make his fights. Mayweather Promotions picks his opponents, and they’ve not been in a hurry to match him against talented fighters. Although Davis looks like he has a lot of ability, Mayweather Promotions is matching him weakly.
Gervonta Davis SCOLDS Devin Haney
Instead of Davis (22-0, 21 KOs) reacting in a positive manner to the news of unbeaten WBC lightweight champion Haney (23-0, 15 KOs) offering him a title shot, Tank Davis responded on Twitter by scolding him for the call out. Gervonta could have said, ‘Okay, let’s fight. Set it up.”
Davis DIDN’T accept the challenge from the younger 20-year-old Haney for some reason. Gevronta added that the World Boxing Council had given Haney his WBC 135-lb title outside of the ring, and that he earned his IBF/WBA 130-lb belts that he’d won in the past. Davis has since vacated those belts.
The way that Davis responded on Twitter, it made it clear that he doesn’t want to fight Haney. The WBC needs to move Gervonta from their #1 position they gave him at lightweight if he’s not ready or willing to fight Haney. Davis about to turn 25-year-old. He can’t say he’s too young to fight Haney, because he’s almost five years older than him.
You better sit ya little ass down..I will hurt you bad and you not a champ for real..they gave you the belt mine was earned lil chump https://t.co/D8THi13w8C
— Gervonta Davis (@Gervontaa) November 4, 2019
“I will whip that kid like I’m his dad…lil man bite my whole style!” said Geronvta in a parting shot to Haney.
Tank Davis faces Yuriorkis Gamboa on December 28
Gervonta faces former WBA 126-lb champion Yuriorkis Gamboa (30-2, 18 KOs) next month for the vacant World Boxing Association 135-lb title on December 28. The fight will be televised LIVE on SHOWTIME at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. This will be Davis’ first fight at lightweight, and there’s a lot of curiosity whether his power will carry up to the new weight class. At super featherweight, Davis was one of the biggest punchers in the division, but we don’t know if he’ll be the same guy at 135.
The boxing public never got a chance to see if Davis was the real thing at super featherweight, because he never fought anyone talented. Davis’ best wins at 130 were against these fighters:
- Jose Pedraza
- Ricardo Nunez
- Francisco Fonseca
- Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar
- Hugo Ruiz
- Liam Walsh
Those are NOT major talents at super featherweight. IBF super featherweight champion Tevin Farmer and former WBO champion Vasiliy Lomachenko both wanted to fight Davis, but he didn’t face either of them. Farmer’s promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing wanted to make a fight with Gervonta in the worst way, but instead he moved up in weight to lightweight.
Haney ready to impress fans on Saturday against Santiago
“All the fans at STAPLES Center and the millions watching on DAZN, are going to witness another dominant performance,” said Haney in a news release. “I’m going to continue to show the world that I’m the best in my division. Alfredo Santiago is my next opponent; he’s undefeated, he’s hungry, and he’s coming to win. I take every fight very serious and this fight is no different. You’ll see that the hype is real,” said Haney.
Devin looked great in beating Zaur Abdullaev (11-1, 7 KOs) by 4th round TKO on September 13 to win the interim WBC lightweight title in New York. Haney wanted to challenge WBC champion Vasiliy Lomachenko, but he was elevated to Franchise champion by the sanctioning body. Lomachenko doesn’t want the fight with Haney. He’s looking to face the Richard Commey vs. Teofino Lopez winner, and then move back down in weight to super featherweight thereafter.
