By Tim Royner: Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe has revealed that WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis (23-0, 22 KOs) will be fighting in the UK in 2021 in a “BIG fight.” Ellerbe didn’t mention the name of Tank Davis’ opponent, but it probable that he’ll be facing the highly ranked Luke Campbell (20-3, 16 KOs).
The 2012 Olympic gold medalist Campbell, 32, is from the UK, and he has a large following over there. A fight between him and Tank Davis would interest a lot of boxing fans, as long as Campbell doesn’t get beaten before then against Javier Fortuna.
Tank Davis to fight in the UK in 2021
“I’m letting the fans know right now. It’s going to be in 2021. I’m working on something big, big for Tank Davis in the UK, and you’re hearing it right now,” said Mayweather Promotions CEO Ellerbe on social media. “In 2021.”
Campbell has flaws in his game, as we’ve seen in his losses to Yvan Mendy, Vasiliy Lomachenko, and Jorge Linares. He’s still a dangerous fighter due to his height, reach, power, and southpaw stance. Campbell gave Lomachenko a heck of a fight last August at the O2 Arena in London, England.
Lomachenko ended up winning the fight by a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision, but Campbell landed a lot of big shots on the two-time Olympic gold medalist.
After the fight, Lomachenko looked like the loser due to his marked-up face. In comparison, Campbell looked like he hadn’t even fought.
There was talk about Tank facing Leo Santa Cruz in his next fight on pay-per-view. However, Santa Cruz’s assistance in Tank coming back down to super featherweight [130] may have ruined the chances of that fight happening. Until Santa Cruz is ready to come up to 135, a battle between him and Tank Davis probably won’t happen.
Davis coming off a win over Gamboa
Tank Davis defeated former WBA featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa (30-3, 18 KOs) by a 12th round knockout last December in Atlanta. Davis dropped Gamboa three times in putting him on the canvas in rounds two, eight, and twelve.
Gamboa tore his right Achilles in round two, and he somehow was able to fight on through the pain to make it to the 12th round. Tank was heavily criticized afterward by the fans for letting injured Gamboa make it to the 12th round, but it looked like he carried him.
The 25-year-old Davis didn’t seem motivated to finish off Gamboa due to him being hurt, and fighting defensively. When Gamboa suddenly went on the attack, Davis turned on his offense and quickly dropped him and finished him off. It was that easy for Davis once he had the motivation.
The 38-year-old Gamboa’s best years are well behind him at this point in his career, and he doesn’t belong inside the ring with young lions like Tank Davis. Gamboa’s best weight class was 126. Once Gamboa could no longer make weight for that division, his career has been on the slow decline ever since.
Tank shocked the boxing world in coming in overweight on his first weigh-in attempt for the fight. Considering that this was the first time Tank had fought at 135, it was disappointing to see him already struggling with the weight.
