By Dan Ambrose: Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis isn’t worried about Teofimo Lopez and his dad helping Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero train for their fight on December 4th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Tank (25-0, 24 KOs) says Teofimo is a “Bum a**,” who can’t sell tickets for his own fights.
Gervonta says IBF/WBA/WBO lightweight champion Teofimo (16-0, 12 KOs) needs to worry about trying to sell tickets for his November 27th fight against George Kambosos Jr. (19-0, 10 KOs) at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Tank is defending his WBA ‘regular’ 135-lb title against the unbeaten Rolando Romero (14-0, 12 KOs) in the headliner on Showtime pay-per-view. The two fighters met on Thursday for their kickoff press conference in Los Angeles.
Rolly, 24, stole the show with his charisma and trash-talking ability, which greatly surpassed that of Gervonta’s, who seemed tongue-tied at times. Rolando made fun of Tank’s 5’5 1/2″ height and his short reach, calling him a “dwarf,” saying he’s got tiny “T-Rex’ arms.
Tank believes that Rolly is showing false courage, and that’s just trying to sell the fight to pump up the PPV numbers so he can make more money to give his momma a Christmas present.
Gervonta doubts Teofimo can help Rolly
“What are they going to do? What the f*** are they going to do?” said Tank Davis when told that Teofimo Lopez and his dad Teofimo Sr. are helping Rolly train for their fight.
“They’re not going to do nothing. Teofimo needs to worry about selling some tickets,” said Gervonta when told that Teofimo is predicting that Rolly will knock him out.
“He can’t even sell tickets and he’s about to fight in New York [at Madison Square Garden]. That only holds 4,000? Tell him to sell some tickets and then holler at me. That bum a** n****.
“I ain’t irritated. This is just boxing, this is what comes,” Gervonta said when asked if he’s irritated by Rolly Romero with the things that he’s aid. “Hell, no,” Tank said on whether Rolly is qualified to fight him at this point in his career,” said Tank.
Teofimo has excellent boxing skills, and between him and his dad, Teofimo Sr, they could come up with some good tips to help Rolly win this fight with Gervonta.
Tank says Rolly is “scared”
“He didn’t show up,” said Tank Davis about Rolly not showing up for their sparring session in 2017. “They know I run that gym when I’m there. They know that.
“When he [Rolly] sees me face to face, he don’t have that same energy. What was that fight [Jackson Marinez] that he really lost?
“I walked right to him when he was sitting on the couch and told him, ‘You’re a bum a** fighter.’ He didn’t say one word. Him and his pops was right there.
“He’s a clown. He’s trying to sell the fight, that’s cool. You saw the energy he’s got on Instagram,” Tank said of Rolly. “If he had the same energy on Instagram right here and he pushed me or anything, then it would have been different. He’s scared.
“And he’s trying to sell the fight, he’s trying to get some money. He’s trying to get his mom something for Christmas. I’m trying to build an empire. I got a lot of people with me.
“Rolly is lucky, definitely,” said Tank when asked if Rolly is the bravest fighter. “Of the ‘Four Kings’ [Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, and Vasily Lomachenko], who can actually draw people? Who do they really want to watch? Me.
“They don’t want to watch the upstarts. Everybody is calling me out because they want money. They want fame, but I understand what’s going on. They don’t really get to me,” said Gervonta.
Rolly might be scared but that’s not going to prevent him from letting his hands go on December 5th. If Rolly is going to lose, he’s going to down swinging. His style isn’t someone to hold back with his power.
