Floyd Mayweather is backing his protege, Gervonta Davis, to knock Ryan Garcia out on April 22 in Las Vegas.
‘Money’ Mayweather guided the career of ‘Tank’ ever since the young fighter ‘asked for a selfie’ on his press tour for the Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez fight back in 2013.
Davis has since been built into one of America’s biggest boxing stars, and will use all of that star power to guarantee the fight against Garcia – who also has a massive following – is one of the biggest of the year.
Even if they stack up in terms of pulling power, Mayweather thinks there’s a gulf in talent. He made his prediction to FightHype.com.
“Ryan hasn’t won a title yet. We don’t talk about no interim belt – that don’t count. And we not taking nothing away from the guy, Fortuna, but he was just an opponent.
I’m gonna have Tank in the best shape of his life, and just know, when he hit that boy, he ain’t gonna wake up until next year.”
The prediction appears to be from a past call with Mayweather, who has since been less involved in ‘Tank’s career.
Having said that, Mayweather Promotions CEO, Leonard Ellerbe, was present at the press conferences so the relationship is currently unclear. Either way, ‘The Best Ever’s pick is unlikely to have changed.
The fight’s intrigue stems from the fact that both young men are undefeated with genuine knockout power, and the 45 stoppages between them almost certainly makes at least half of Mayweather’s call correct.
Such is the magnitude of the event, it will be available on both Showtime and DAZN PPV in the US, and sees promotional companies setting aside their differences to work together.