By Dan Ambrose: Bernard Hopkins of Golden Boy Promotions insists that the Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis vs. Ryan Garcia mega-fight is still on for April 15th despite the Baltimore native pleading guilty earlier Thursday to four counts from his hit-and-run car crash three years ago in November 2020.
It’s unknown how much jail time Tank is going to get at his sentencing, if any, but it’s got to worry him, and it’ll potentially hurt his career if he’s given a year. That’s a long time, and Tank would need a couple of tune-ups after that to try and regain what he lost.
Luckily for fans, Ryan Garcia, PBC & Golden Boy, Gervonta’s sentencing won’t take place until May 5th, which means the massive-money Tank-Garcia fight can still go ahead for April 15th.
It may worry Tank having potential jail time hanging over his head while he prepares for his fight with Ryan, but even if he’s not able to fully compartmentalize this, he should be able to train well enough to do the job against the inexperienced 24-year-old Ryan in April.
If this were Shakur Stevenson or Frank Martin that Tank Davis was preparing to fight, having the sentencing looming could throw him off enough for him to lose, but probably not against the Golden Boy-promoted Ryan Garcia because he’s green as they come due to the soft match-making he’s had during his seven-year professional career.
Ryan is coming into this fight with his best opponent being Luke Campbell, who was never one of the A-level fighters.
Tank vs. Ryan still on
“He goes after the fight. I know what that five years was for me,” said Bernard Hopkins to Fight Hub TV about Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis’ sentencing on May 5th for the four counts that he pleaded guilty on Thursday from his hit and run car crash three years ago in November 2020.
“I know what that five years was for me, so I don’t like to see anybody that don’t deserve to be there or incarcerated. The fight is in April, so I believe that if he has a smart legal team and they want to make an example, whether you’re a celebrity or not, that can work against you.
“I’d be glad to get that fight in for April before I go do my six, seven, or eight months. He won’t get a lot of time, but anytime at this stage of his career with big fights looming, the first one would, of course, be April with Ryan Garcia.
“I just think that it’s not a big deal because it’s after April. The fight is going to go in April, and the world is going to get a chance to see who was talking and who was for real.
“Then I wish for Tank to get a second chance to redeem himself and drive not only safe, but just be careful out there and make amends to himself and pay the price that he has to pay and move forward,” Hopkins said.
Gervonta wanted attention
“Oh, he wanted attention,” said Hopkins about Tank Davis being pushed around the Super Bowl in a wheelchair. “This was on a different level at the Super Bowl, and there was so many people there of high standards of sports and all walks of life.
“I don’t think anybody paid attention, but boxing people that was Tank in the wheelchair. It was too big of an event to worry about a poor guy, who they probably thought was homeless, in a wheelchair being pushed around,” said Hopkins about Tank.
It’s hard to know what Tank Davis chose to be pushed around in a wheelchair during the Super Bowl. If it was a gag on his part, boxing fans didn’t see it as funny. Overwhelming the reaction was confusion because it was so weird and inexplicable.
Did Tank want sympathy, or was he trying to find a way to squirm out of the fight with Ryan? If it’s the latter, will Tank continue to worm his way out of future fights when he’s put in against better opposition? Future events cast their shadows before.
With Ryan Garcia being Tank’s best opponent to date, maybe he was nervous about the step up in competition and was thinking of getting out of the fight by coming down with an injury.
Mayweather Promotions matched Tank with utter care all these years, keeping him away from the best opposition to ensure he wasn’t beaten or worn out from hard fights. When Tank was finally matched against a better opponent in Ryan, he suddenly has to be wheeled around as if he were badly hurt.
“I think it was a better way to get attention to walk in there as yourself,” said Hopkins. “If somebody recognizes you, they recognize you, and if they don’t, they don’t or walk in there with a boxing shirt on with you and Ryan getting made up. They say, ‘Who’s that?’ Somebody might draw to you because of that, and you promote your fight.
“You be the best promoter of your fight. But no, no, no. I don’t think being in a wheelchair went viral. I don’t know how many likes. If I’m buying tickets and you’re in a wheelchair, I’m concerned.
“I mean, it’s time. These guys are in shape. It’s different. Back in the day during my day, you’d have never seen me at a Super Bowl game. Do you know how many funerals I missed during my 28 years?
“How many services for people that I loved and cared about and cared about me. I was so embedded and focused in camp that I missed many, many funerals and some weddings because I had to focus on what I became. Successful Hall of Famer, with a legacy, and I stand down on that, but we’re in 2023. Everything is different, good or bad,” said Hopkins.
Boxing has really changed since Bernard Hopkins was around, and it’s hard to compare this era to when he was competing. Now it’s all about social media and guys that avoid fighting the best long enough to build up an inflated record before cashing out.