By Allan Fox: Tefoimo Lopez says a fight between him and Gervonta Davis isn’t happening because Tank’s management has a plan of only matching him against B-level opposition and not going above or below that level.
It’s not a revelation to fans that Mayweather Promotions & PBC have been focusing on putting the Baltimore native Tank Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) in contests with predictable outcomes.
Fans gave up a long time ago at the prospect of seeing Tank matched against Teofimo and Vasily Lomachenko. Now, you can add Shakur Stevenson, William Zepeda & Devin Haney to that list of fighters that won’t be fighting Tank.
They’re putting the 29-year-old Gervonta in easy fights with little risk involved, and he’s bringing in massive amounts of dough, thanks to the fans who don’t mind seeing him fight against non-challenging opposition.
“The reason why the Gervonta Davis fight won’t happen is obviously they have their plan of what they’re going to do with Tank. It works; good system. He doesn’t have to go above the B level; he doesn’t have to go below the B level. He stays right there,” said Teofimo Lopez to ProBox TV about Gervonta Davis.
From Tank’s management’s position, why would they want to put him at risk of losing by putting him in against A-level fighters like Shakur & Teofimo? With the way they’re matching Tank Davis with lesser guys like Ryan Garcia & Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz, it’s like a license to print money. The dough is poured in without any effort or risk involved.
“You talk about Gervonta fighting B & C-level fighters and avoiding the A-level fighters. I agree,” said Paulie Malignaggi. “They [PBC & Mayweather Promotions] have a plan for him being a star, beating B & C-level fighters, and they’re not going to fight you.
“I don’t expect him [Tank Davis] to fight you, and I don’t expect Devin Haney to fight you. They’re on their plan. What I’m saying is they’re on their plan, but it’s not on the sport’s plan.
“The sport as a whole has guys coming behind us that also need to make money. We need the sport to thrive to keep making money, but everybody else is just about themselves. I don’t see these guys coming to see you to realistically make a fight,” said Malignaggi.
Teofimo NOT planning on keeping active
“I hear people say, ‘Keep active, that’s always going to keep you good,'” said Teofimo when asked if he plans on staying active with his career. “I can always stay active in the gym as long as I’m sparring; that’s all I need.”
When asked if he plans on staying active, Teofimo said that he wants to spend time with his family, and he feels that sparring is enough for him to stay sharp while being inactive.
Teofimo may not be a cherry-picker like Gervonta Davis, but he’s bad for the sport in his own way by not being active. He only fights once a year, and he hadn’t taken any big risks until recently since his fight with Vasily Lomachenko three years ago in 2o20.
“I don’t need much as far as that goes,” said Teofimo about keeping his skills sharp in between fights. “I really want to take care of the personal things that I’ve been pushing to the side.
“What do I do? I go into camp for two or three months, and I’m not seeing my son. He’s about to turn two next month, and I’ve probably only got to see him for nine months his whole life,” said Teofimo.
If Teofimo is still sitting on the shelf in the second half of next year, the WBO needs to think about stripping him of his 140-lb title because he can’t hold the belt hostage while he enjoys the money he made from his past fights.
