Gervonta Davis being protected says Gary Russell Jr

By Boxing News - 01/22/2022 - Comments

By Allan Fox: Gary Russell Jr. says Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis is being “Protected” by his handlers at Mayweather Promotions, and they don’t want to mess up the “investment” that they got.

WBC featherweight champion Russell  Jr. says he wanted to fight Tank Davis (26-0, 24 KOs), but they’ve not shown interest in fighting him.

Russell has concluded that Mayweather Promotions don’t want to see their fighter WBA secondary lightweight champion Tank fight anyone good that can wreck their money-maker.

Gary points out that Tank Davis has to rally in many of his fights, coming back to score a knockout or win a decision after coming from behind.

Recently, Tank won a controversial 12 round decision over Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz on December 5th in a fight that many boxing fans felt the Mexican slugger did enough to win. The outcome was a cherry-pick that went wrong for Tank’s promoters.

Russell: Tank Davis being protected

“I can’t force these guys to get in the ring with me. It doesn’t make sense on a business angle for someone [Floyd Mayweather Jr] that is trying to protect their investment when it comes to a Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis [fight] because it’s highly likely he’s going to get his a** scorched,” said Gary Russell Jr. via Mike Coppinger.

Image: Gervonta Davis being protected says Gary Russell Jr

“Even if I fought everyone, they’re still going to have something to say,” said Russell Jr. to The Last Stand Podcast with Brian Custer about how he would still be criticized even if he fought everybody.

Many boxing fans believe that Mayweather Promotions have protected Tank Davis from Vasily Lomachenko, Teofimo Lopez, and now George Kambosos Jr.

Instead of matching Tank Davis against those fighters, he’s been put in against these guys:

  •  Leo Santa Cruz
  • Mario Barrios
  • Isaac Cruz
  • Yuriorkis  Gamboa
  • Ricardo Nunez
  • Hugo Ruiz

“I can’t put all the pressure on them. They can’t force these guys to get in the ring and compete against me,” said Russell Jr. when asked why isn’t PBC putting more pressure on the fighters under their banner to get inside the ring with him.

Fans are being “bamboozled,” says Russell Jr

“The fans need to stop supporting some of the fighters, especially when you know the outcome of the fights before it is,” said Russell Jr. You clearly know this guy is trying to fight somebody that he knows he’s going to beat. It’s so lopsided that it’s a waste of time to watch the fight.

“You only watch the fight just to see this guy fight at this. The fans are the ones that are getting bamboozled. They want to see the best against the best, and these guys have got to be pushed into it,” said Russell Jr.

Tank Davis has never been involved in a fight where you didn’t know the outcome ahead of time. He’s always faced guys where it was a dead certainty that he would win, and that’s pathetic.

They’re wrecking Tank Davis’ legacy by not matching him against the best fighters like Lomachenko and the other top fighters at 135. At this point, Gervonta could be so much more popular if he’d been facing the best.

Image: Gervonta Davis being protected says Gary Russell Jr

Tank doesn’t need to be protected like he’s fragile and made of fine china, but the way he is gives the impression that his promoter lacks confidence in him.

The thing is, for Gervonta to become famous and make money like Mayweather, he’s got to fight the best. That’s not happening, and you got to wonder why.

If Tank began fighting the best, he would take away the shine from his promoter Mayweather, and he’d be the one getting the adoration from boxing fans.