By Chris Williams: Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis isn’t bothered at all about the many haters he has in the boxing world after watching him succeed yet again in stopping Yuriorkis Gamboa last December.
(Photo credit: Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME)
Davis is an even tempered person, and he doesn’t react with anger to his many critics, who constantly running down the young talent. It doesn’t matter that Tank Davis keeps beating everyone that’s put in front of him. With some boxing fans, it’s never enough.
Davis needs these scalps to quiet his critics:
- Vasiliy Lomachenko
- Devin Haney
- Ryan Garcia
- Teofimo Lopez
- Luke Campbell
Davis (23-0, 22 KOs) became a two division world champion in beating former IBF/WBA featherweight Gamboa (30-3, 18 KOs) by a 12th round knockout on December 28 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
Beating the 2004 Olympic gold medalist Gamboa was an accomplishment by itself, but stopping him is what made it even better. Davis, 25, dropped the tough as nails Gamboa in rounds 2, 8 and 12. Had the fight not been stopped after the third knockdown, Davis would have likely dropped Yuriorkis a fourth time.
Gervonta not bothered by his haters
“Just me making a bad mistake, and that just shows,” said Gervonta to Inside PBC Boxing when asked whether he was distracted in round 10, which allowed Gamboa to land his best combination in the fight.
“I’d fight next month if it were up to me. They watched the fight, and they’re talking about it. So they’re definitely supporting me,” said Tank Davis about his haters. “Good support, and bad support, it’s support. Keep supporting me,” said Davis in response to all his haters.
A big part of the negative feedback that Davis has been getting from boxing fans is a result of his promoters at Mayweather Promotions not rushing him into a fight with Lomachenko. The fans wanted Davis to fight Lomachenko over 3 years ago when he was just 22-years-old, and they thought about whether it would be fair to Tank in matching him against the near-30-year-old Loma.
The guys that Davis wanted to fight at super featherweight, Lomachenko and Miguel Berchelt, were on the other side of the fence. They were all out of reach signed with Top Rank Boxing, and Gervonta couldn’t fight them. Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank don’t often work with each other unless it’s a big fight. Two to three years ago, Lomachenko vs. Tank Davis wouldn’t have been a big fight, since not enough casuals knew who Tank was.
Tank Davis pleased with performance against Gamboa
“I was happy with my performance. It was my first time at 135, fighting a veteran Gamboa,” said Gervonta Davis. “They wrote him off leading up to the fight, but some fighters pick up their training according to who their fighting. Just like when Zab fought Danny Garcia.
“Everyone was writing Zab off, but he came to fight. It was a good fight with Danny Garcia,” said Gervonta. “I thought he held his own as a champion, and things like that. I held my own as an up and rising star. I’m just grateful to be fighting there,” said Davis in fighting in Atlanta,” said Davis.
There were a lot of fans that tore into Tank Davis in the aftermath of his win over Gamboa. They were unhappy about how it took him 12 rounds to stop Gamboa after he suffered a torn right Achilles in round 2, and they felt he should have ended the fight sooner.
If you look at that match closely, Tank fought like he was in 1st gear through 90% of the contest. The reason for that is obvious. He probably felt sorry for Gamboa, and didn’t want to just wail on the guy after he tore Achilles. It was painfully obvious that Gamboa was handicapped from the 2nd round on, and Tank didn’t seem to have the heart to take the Cuban great out.
It wasn’t even sporting. The only reason Davis turned it up a notch in the 12th was because Gamboa came out looking for a knockout. At that point, Davis had no choice but to go after Gamboa out of self defense to finish him off.
Gervonta wants to stay at 130-135 for next 2 years
“Between 130 and 135,” said Gervonta when asked what weight he’ll be fighting at. “I can go up and down, probably for the next two years, I believe. I just want big names. Whoever my team decides for me to fight, I’m going to fight. I believe I have one of the best teams in boxing. Yes, because he’s a big name, and he’s older than me,” said Tank Davis when asked if he’d like to fight Leo Santa Cruz.
“He’s a veteran himself, and he’s been at this longer than me,” said Davis on Santa Cruz.
It makes sense for Davis to stay between 130 and 135 for as long as he can, seeing tht those weight classes are perfecf for his size. You have to remember that Davis is ONLY 5’5 1/2″, and that’s too small to fight comfortably at 140 or 147.
If Davis moved up to light welterweight, he would be fighting guys as tall at 5’11”, and they would use their height and reach advantage to try and box him from the outside. There’s an excellent chance that Davis would still thrive at 140, but it wouldn’t be nearly as easy as it would if he stays where he’s at.
Fortunately for Davis, he still has a lot of good fights available to him at super featherweight and lightweight. He’s not in a rush to move up to 140 or 147, given all the great options available for him at 130 and 135.
Tank Davis talks about missing weight
“This is my first year. When I miss weight, it’s always been about that time period,” said Tank Davis. “It’s never been about me working hard or anything like that. I don’t like to stay at that low weight.
“And I train, and then I try to get that weight off at the last minute,” said Tank Davis. “I think that’s what’s been hurting me, because I just don’t like to be sitting at that low weight for so long. And I like to be comfortable,” said Davis in talking about his struggles with weight.
It’s interesting that Davis waits too long before cutting weight, because that’s what a lot of people thought. He doesn’t look huge for the 130 and 135-lb weight classes after he rehydrates. His problem is entirely about him waiting too long before cutting weight, and you can’t do that.
Leo Santa Cruz ready for Gervonta now
“I’m ready to fight Gervonta now. I want to go out and show the fans that I’m not scared of anybody,” said Leo Santa Cruz at Premier Boxing Champions. “Who else is better than Davis? He’s the most dangerous & popular fighter right now.”
Leo Santa Cruz is really pushing hard for the Davis fight, and there are a lot of fans that wanted to see these two go at it. Leonard Ellerbe says Davis’ next fight will be on pay-per-view, which is a big hint that he could be facing Santa Cruz next.
There aren’t a lot of great options for Davis to fight on PPV at super featherweight and lightweight. You can immediately rule out the injured Devin Haney or the Top Rank fighters Lomachenko and Teofimo. Those are guys that Davis could fight on pay-per-view, but they’re already tied up fighting each other.
“Fans will support who they like and who they want to see,” said Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe about Davis. “Gervonta has the IT factor and he just getting started.”
What you got to say to all the haters, @Gervontaa?
“Keep supporting me!” pic.twitter.com/vfsRnZYvsc
— FOX Sports: PBC (@PBConFOX) January 12, 2020
