By Jeff Aronow: Ryan Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) called out Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis on Wednesday on social media, saying he wants the fight with him before the end of the year.
Ryan will need to do a lot of talking to get Gervona and his promoters to take the fight because he’s lost a lot of popularity due to him pulling out of his fight with Javier Fortuna.
The young 22-year-old ‘King’ Ryan was scheduled to fight Fortuna on July 9th, but he then pulled out, saying that he had “anxiety” problems.
The attention that Tank Davis (25-0, 24 KOs) has attracted from the boxing world from his eleventh round knockout win over WBA ‘regular’ 140-lb champion Mario Barrios last weekend has obviously renewed Ryan Garcia’s interest in fighting him.
Last year, Ryan, 22, had called out Tank Davis repeatedly on social media and during interviews saying he wanted to fight him.
Oddly enough, when Davis, his management at Mayweather Promotions, was ready to make the fight, Ryan changed his mind and said he would fight Manny Pacquiao.
This is the only fight that I want, would love to make this happen this year!! You know this Leonard!! https://t.co/Iph3olWi3L
— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) June 30, 2021
Gervonta Davis has become a star says DiBella
“Mario Barrios hung with Gervonta Davis, which I expected and Davis stopped him late,” said Lou DiBella to Secondsout. “I think he’s [Gevonta] a very strong fighter, he’s got a come-forward style.
“For good or for bad, you care about him. He’s got that element to him to where people care about him. He’s got that star quality about him.
“In the ring itself, it’s hard not to like him. He’s a compelling charismatic fighter. He’s a very aggressive physically strong little guy.
“I don’t think 140 is here he belongs, but I think he will continue to grow into that weight. I think his perfect weight for him right now is 135.
“Frankly, at 135, I’d love to see him in the mix with the Haneys, Lomachenko, Teofimo Lopez, Ryan Garia. That’s a tremendous potential weight class for major matches.
“Davis did what he was supposed to do. Look, he continues to sell tickets too. That was a tremendous crowd in Atlanta. He’s obviously become a major star.
“He has rap star kind of status in the black communities, partially in major cities.
“He’s a draw and good for him. It was a pleasing performance. I think most people that watched that fight were entertained,” said DiBella.
For Gervonta to become a star nationwide in the United States, he’s going to need to fight guys like Ryan Garcia, Teofimo Lopez, Vasily Lomachenko, Devin Haney, and Regis Prograis.
The question is, will Tank fight non-PBC and Mayweather Promotions fighters? If Floyd Mayweather Jr was serious about what he said last Saturday about Tank only being matched against PBC and Mayweather Promotions fighters, he can forget about fighting any of those big names.
To put it another way, we’ll continue to see Tank matched against guys like Mario Barrios, Yuriorkis Gamboa, and Leo Santa Cruz. Davis will be matched with old guys and no-name fighters.
Barrios was a no-name fighter before last Saturday night. He’s known now, but only because he fought Tank. He was dead weight for the promotion of the Tank fight, contributing very little in drumming up interest in the clash.
Tank Davis has become an attraction in some of the cities on the East Coast in Baltimore and Atlanta. He hasn’t shown that he’s a star on the West Coast in California, Las Vegas, or in the midwest in Texas.
Haney & Prograis options for Tank Davis
“It depends on the opponents,” said DiBella when asked if Gervonta can continue to grow as an attraction if he only fights PBC opponents.
“Also, PBC opponents, and the PBC universe is fluid. So it depends on who flows in and out. Regis Prograis doesn’t have a contract with anybody right now.
“Would I pay for a Davis-Prograis fight right now? Yes, I would. It depends on what weight class he does to.
“There will be more opportunities at 140 within the PBC universe than there would be at 135. Obviously, none of the major names at 135 right now are aligned with PBC.
“Isn’t Devin Haney a free agent right now? Haney and Gervonta is a big pay-per-view right now. Gervonta is clearly the A-side, and I don’t see Haney taking the fight for significantly shorter money.
“But if Haney wanted that fight right now, he’d have to take the fight at significantly shorter money because he’s not the draw that Davis is.
“That’s just business facts. He may not like it if he’s Team Haney, but it’s business facts,” said DiBella.
WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney would be an excellent fight for Tank Davis at 135, particularly with him being a free agent.
However, Haney isn’t a big name right now in comparison to the other fighters like Ryan Garcia and Teofimo Lopez. It makes more sense for Mayweather Promotions to try and match Tank Davis with Ryan, Teofimo or Vasily Lomachenko than it does Haney.
Former WBA light welterweight champion Regis Prograis (26-1, 22 KOs) would create more noise for Gervonta than Haney because he’s an excellent trash-talker and has been around for a while.
Prograis would help sell the Tank fight with his social media presence and his ability to drum up interest with interviews.
With that said, Progais is a much tougher fight for Gervonta Davis than the light-hitting Haney. It wouldn’t be easy for Gervonta to beat Prograis, and he might lose.
We all saw Floyd Mayweather Jr had to give Tank a pep talk before the eighth round last Saturday night when things were looking shaky for him against Mario Barrios.
If Tank struggled against Barrios, what do you think would happen if he fought Prograis? It might matter what Mayweather says to Tank in between rounds if he takes a fight with Prograis. If Tank goes right at Prograis, he might get taken out with a body shot.
