By Jeff Aronow: Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis is putting in the hard work sparring with Shawn Porter this week for their respective fights against Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz and Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford.
The former IBF/WBC welterweight champion Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs) is finishing up his training and getting help from Gervonta (25-0, 24 KOs) for his November 20th title fight against WBO 147-lb champion Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs).
Porter, 33, needs to be ready for what he’s going to be dealing with in facing #2 pound-for-pound talent Crawford on ESPN+ PPV at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
As trainer Kenny Porter stated on Wednesday, there’s not much difference in weight between Porter and Tank right now because Shawn’s weight is low right now because he’s getting ready for the weigh-in on November 19th.
Tank is facing replacement opponent Pitbull Cruz (20-1-1, 14 KOs) on December 5th on SHOWTIME PPV at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Cruz, 5’4″, has a style that is in some ways similar to Porter, so it makes sense for Tank to be using ‘Showtime’ Shawn in sparring to prepare for him.
Gervonta & Porter sparring to prepare for fights
“We got some dogs with us today. Of course, we got Shawn ‘Showtime’ Porter, we got Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and we got some of the future with us,” said Barry Hunter to Fighthype on the Porter sparring with Gervonta.
“You got Nasheed Smith, and let’s not forget all the way from Ghana, Isaac ‘Royal Storm’ Dogboe,” Hunter continued. “Then you’ve got world class trainers. Everybody is working together, this is what its all about.
“Think about it. We need to get back to the days of instead of all this nonsense and all this garbage, everybody working and helping one another out. Fighters helping each other to get shaper.
“You got world class athletes, world class trainers, Hall of Fame trainers. You can’t do nothing but get better, and then, I’m guilty of it too. With the new lavish gyms, and even now down to your shoes and clothing.
“Sometimes you got to go back to the beginning to get the core of the essence of what we do, and if you look around, there’s nothing lavish about this place.
“But these are the places that Joe Louis, Jack Johnson, Marciano, legendary fighters have actually trained. Floyd run in these mountains also. So, it worked for them, and I still think it’ll work now,” said Hunter.
It’s good that Porter and Tank are willing to work with each other because some guys wouldn’t do it. They would have an issue with the size difference or they might be uncomfortable letting another top fighter see how good they are.
As the underdog, Porter has the toughest task than Gervonta in taking on Crawford. Unless Porter can put in an exceptional performance, he’s likely to lose to Crawford.
In contrast, Gervonta is a heavy favorite to defeat replacement opponent Pitbull Cruz, who was brought in to replace Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero after he was pulled from the card due to the sexual assault allegations that surfaced recently.
Steel sharpens steel
“It goes back to that saying, ‘Steel sharpens steel.’ And then here, outside of the new norm, you’ve got world class and coaches sharing information to help one another out to try and be better.
“I love it. I’m glad we were able to come out here and get this experience and share this with other people. It’s a good thing. [Isaac] Cruz and short like Isaac Dogboe,” said Hunter about Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis fighting Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz on December 5th.
“With Shawn fighting one of the pound-for-pound kings, which is Terence Crawford, so he’s got southpaws, fast southpaws, tall southpaws. And very skilled and sharp orthodox fighters.
“As you look at the collective whole, when you look at this group of talent, as far as athletes are concerned, when you look at the talent and the coaches, it’s a beautiful thing. I’d like to see more of it actually,” said Hunter.
