By Kenneth Friedman: Yuriorkis Gamboa (30-2, 18 KOs) isn’t paying attention to Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis’ attempts at trash talking and intimidation ahead of their fight this Saturday night on December 28 on Showtime at the State Farm Arena, in Atlanta. The WBA ‘regular’ lightweight title will be on the line on Saturday for this Premier Boxing Champions event.
Davis has previously held the IBF and WBA super featherweight titles during his six-year professional career. For his part, Gamboa held the IBF and WBA featherweight title a decade ago.
Gamboa WON’T be intimidated
The talented Cuban 2004 Olympic gold medalist has seen a lot during his time in the Cuban amateur system, and he’s not going to be trash talked into being intimidated by the 25-year-old Tank Davis.
This is going to be a hard fight or Davis, and you can’t rule out an upset. He’s never fought anyone like Gamboa in terms of speed, power and boxing skills. This will be the first time that Davis has fought someone with the kind of power that can give him problems. Mayweather Promotions has been careful with Davis, choosing to match him strategically against fighters they feel confident he can beat.
Gamboa immune to Tank Davis’ attempts at mind games
“My job isn’t to pay attention to any trash talk,” said Gamboa at the final news conference. ‘My only focus is to go in there at 150% and give it my all. I don’t care about any of the chatter outside of the ring.
“The confidence that I have comes from my focus and the hard work that I’ve put into this camp. I know what I have to do December 28. Everything from camp has unfolded how I wanted to leading into fight night,” said Gamboa.
If Gamboa is going to win this fight, he’ll need to a good engine and the ability to take the punishment that Gervonta will be dishing out.
Davis has recent big wins over the hard hitting Hugo Ruiz last February, and Ricardo Nunez. Tank Davis stopped Ruiz in the 1st round last February, and Nunez in the 2nd round last July. Gervonta has knocked out his last 13 opponents, but none of them have the talent that Gamboa has going for them.
Gamboa says he’s going to war against Gervonta Davis
“Gervonta knocking his opponents out and not going past the ninth round is great for him, but I don’t think it has anything to do with my resume,” said Gamboa. “I’ve faced stronger fighters than Gervonta and I’ve been able to beat them. He’s not going to bring anything I haven’t seen.I’ve had a great training camp and I know what I’m able to give on Saturday. We’re going to give you a war,” said Gamboa.
There’s no other choice but to brawl with Davis, because he’s going to force the fight onto Gamboa.
What time is Gervonta Davis vs. Yuriorkis Gamboa fight start?
The fight telecast starts on Showtime at 9:00 p.m., ET/6:00 p.m. PT. This is the moment of truth for Davis, as he’s been pegged as the new superstar in boxing by his promoters at Mayweather Promotions, and if he fails to live up to their expectations, it’s going to be pie in their face.
There’s already a legion of boxing fans that believe Davis ducked a fight against Yuriorkis Gamboa, and they feel that he’ll wind up doing the same thing with Devin Haney as well.
Davis has a lot of power, youth and a great engine going for him. If he’s going to beat Gamboa, he’ll do it with pressure and a high work rate. While Gamboa is still an excellent fighter, his stamina is his weak spot. If he’s not in good shape for this fight, Gervonta will likely stop hm.
Two years ago, Gamboa was surprisingly stopped in the 7th round by high level journeyman Robinson Castellanos (24-14, 14 KOs) in May 2017. Gamboa likely wouldn’t have lost that fight if he’d been better prepared for the fight. Castellanos has lost his last two fights since then against Jezzrel Corrales and Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov.
Gervonta Davis vs. Yuriorkis Gamboa undercard
In the chief support on Saturday, WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal (34-6-1, 20 KOs) defends against the always tough former 2 division world champion Badou Jack (22-2-3, 13 KOs).
This is going to be a good fight. Pascal, 37, is still fighting at a very high level, and is coming off of a big 8 round technical decision win over 2012 U.S Olympian Marcus Browne last August in Brooklyn, New York.
Browne suffered a cut over his left eye from a clash of heads, which caused the fight to be stopped in round 8. Nevertheless, Pascal was dominating the bout in having dropped Browne in the 4th and 7th. Had the fight continued, it’s likely that Pascal would have knocked out the tired Browne.
Jose Uzcategui vs. Lionell Thompson
In the first fight on the televised portion of the Davis vs. Gamboa card, former IBF super middleweight champion Jose Uzcategui (29-3, 24 KOs) will be facing Lionell Thompon (21-5, 12 KOs) in a 10 round fight. Uzcategui, 29, is looking to pick up his second consecutive victory since losing his International Boxing Federation 168-lb title to Caleb Plant last January.
Plant surprisingly knocked Uzcategui down twice in the process of beating him by a 12 round unanimous decision in Los Angeles, California. Uzcategui came back from the loss to defeat journeyman Roberto Valdez (10-10-1, 7 KOs) by a 1st round knockout last September in Tijuana, Mexico. Uzcategui can punch, nd he’s got loads of boxing skills and talent.