Gervonta Davis wants to showcase skills against Yuriorkis Gamboa on Sat.

By Boxing News - 12/24/2019 - Comments

By Barry Holbrook: Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis (22-0, 21 KOs) will be looking to capture his second division world title this Saturday night in his against Yuriorkis Gamboa (30-2, 18 KOs) for the vacant WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion. Davis, 25, and Gamboa will televised fight on Showtime at the State Farm Arena, in Atlanta. This is an event staged by Premier Boxing Champions.

(Photo credit: Mayweather Promotions)

This is a big opportunity for Tank Davis to be seen by a lot of news in fighting in a new division for him against one of the best fighters this decade. Gamboa, 37, is a former WBA featherweight champion, and he also is a gold medalist from the 2004 Olympics. Despite Gamboa’s advanced age, he brings a lot to the table for this fight, and Tank Davis can’t look past him.

In the co-feature bout, WBA secondary light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal (34-6-1, 20 KOs) defends against the always tough Badou Jack (22-3-3, 13 KOs). These two have a chance to steal the show from the Davis vs. Gamboa fight if they come ready for war on Saturday. The good news for boxing fans is Pascal and Badou aren’t defensive specialists, and they’ll likely be looking to brawl from start to finish.

Gervonta interested in Teofimo Lopez fight

“To show Atlanta they definitely have a champion in Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, and I’m excited and looking forward to it. I’m ready to put on a great performance in front of the fans out there, and tuning in on Showtime,” said Davis to secondsout. “Yeah, it feels amazing that Gervonta Davis is going to pay-per-view. It feels amazing. It doesn’t matter to me. Just line them up, and I’m here,” Davis said when asked who he wants to fight in his first PPV fight in 2020.

“There ain’t no safety on this Glock, so I’m ready for it all,” Tank Davis said. “There’s all kinds of fighters that can bring the best out of me. It’s just making the right fights at the right time. I’m all for it, and my team is all for it. So we’ll have an agreement, and let the fighters fight. He’s a good fighter, and he’s got skills and all that,” said Gervonta about Teofimo in being asked about his win over Richard Commey.

“He put on a great performance in his last fight. Hopefully, we’ll get him in the future in the near future. So hopefully, we’ll make that fight happen,” Tank Davis said about a fight with Teofimo.

Tank Davis vs. Teofimo Lopez would be an excellent fight, if Teofimo beats WBA/WBC [F]/WBO lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomacchenko next April. if not, then Lomachenko is the guy that Gervonta will need to fight. Unfortunately, that’s a fight that may prove to be difficult to put together.

While Lomachenko’s promoters at top Rank would be willing to do the fight, Mayweather Promotions might not. They’re still protective of Tank Davis at this early stage in his career, and they likely won’t make that fight.

Tank Davis ready to display his skills against Gamboa

“Fighting Gamboa will bring out some things the sport hasn’t seen yet, as far as my skills,” said Davis. “Gamboa isn’t coming as a slouch. He definitely coming to fight. My mindset is he’s coming to fight, and I’m giving it my all December 28th, and hopefully he’s giving his all. The fans win on that night.

“Also, when I grow up in boxing, I have to grow outside of the ring too,” said Gervonta. “I’m growing each and every time, I’m learning, and my cup is not full. That’s a great thing. I believe I can grow and become one of the greats.”

Davis definitely needs to bring out more of his boxing skills against the highly experienced Gamboa than he has in the past. On the other hand, this could be another easy fight for Davis due to his punching power. Gamboa hasn’t fought a slugger with the kind of power that Davis possesses since his fight against Terence Crawford. Therefore, this is a fight that Gamboa will be hard-pressed to win unless his punch resistance has improved.

Gamboa’s temper led to his loss to Crawford

It’s easy to see what went wrong in Gamboa’s loss to Crawford. Up until the 5th, Gamboa fought well against Crawford. However, Gamboa lost his concentration after he was knocked down in the 5th by Crawford, and he began winging shots wildly from that point on. Subsequently, Crawford, a skilled counter puncher, took advantage of Gamboa’s loss of concentration, and he took over the fight.

Crawford eventually stopped Gamboa in the 9th. Gamboa was initially upset at the referee for his decision to give Crawford credit for a knockdown in the 5th. The knockdown was caused by a slip, and the referee blew the call. Instead of just forgetting about it, Gamboa lost his cool, and Crawford took advantage. In hindsight, Gamboa should have stayed composed, and put the knockdown out of his mind.

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Tank Davis spoke to Errol Spence Jr. recently

“We spoke, and he was in great spirits and great health,” said Davis about him speaking with Errol Spence Jr. recently after his car crash. “As you saw on TV, he looked great. I’m glad he’s back, and hopefully in 2020, he’ll come back in the ring and be one of the top dogs. I was just making sure he was okay, because we’re friends outside of boxing. So we’ve grown that bond.

“I was making sure he was OK, because I have seen the video of his car flipping over,” said Davis about Spence. “So I was making sure he was great. I heard he was back in the gym, so that’s a plus, and so hopefully in 2020, he can come back on top. I was always the type to learn from people around me.

“When I was coming up, the people that I looked up to, they were getting killed in the street. I learned not to do that, and I was always the kid that was able to use other people’s life experience for my own sake,” Davis said.

It’s good to hear that Davis checked up on IBF/WBA welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr., in view of the fact that he needs support right now. That was a terrible car crash the unbeaten Spence was involved in on October 10, and there’s no way of knowing if he’ll ever be the same fighter.