By Chris Williams: Gervonta Davis wasn’t impressed with what he saw of light welterweight champion Josh Taylor with his recent victory over Regis Prograis on October 26. Davis said the unbeaten Taylor (16-0, 12 KOs) looked “slow” and “Wild” in winning the fight.
Davis (22-0, 21 KOs) still has to beat Yuriorkis Gamboa (30-2, 18 KOs) in their fight on December 28 in Atlanta, Georgia before he can think of potentially moving up to 140 to face Taylor for his IBF & WBA light welterweight titles. It’ll be a big test for Davis to take on Taylor for his titles at 140, but it’s something he’s capable of doing.
Tank Davis says Josh Taylor looks slow
“I’ve seen clips of it [Taylor vs. Prograis fight]. He’s a little wild, and he’s slow, man. Slow,” said Gervonta to Fighthype when asked if he watched Josh Taylor’s fight against Prograis. “I might be stronger,” said Davis when asked if his power will carry up to 135. “I made sure I tested it.”
Taylor’s management will need to agree to letting him defend his belts against the smaller 5’5 1/2″ Davis. It’s one of those fights where Taylor would have everything to lose, and very little to gain in taking on Gervonta. The match would help Taylor increase his popularity in the States as well as the UK, but there would be a HUGE downside for him if he were to lose.
WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev was willing to defend against the much smaller Saul Canelo Alvarez, who is moving up two weight classes to challenge him, but the circumstances are different. Gervonta isn’t a mega-star like Canelo, and there won’t be the same massive payday for Taylor in taking that fight. If Taylor loses to Davis, then his career is going to be ready to the scrap heap.
Gervonta has better fights at 130 & 135
It might be better for Gervonta to stay at lightweight to face Devin Haney, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Ryan Garcia than it would in moving up to face the little known Scottish fighter Taylor. It’s not that Taylor isn’t a good fighter, because he’s got talent, but the U.S boxing fans don’t know who he is. Davis, 24, wouldn’t receive credit from fans for beating Taylor because he’s still an unknown in America.
If Taylor does become a bigger name, then it would be a good idea for Davis to call him out. Right now, it’s still far too early for Gervonta to be bothering with fighting Taylor. There are too many other far more interesting fights at 130 and 135 for Davis.