After his dominant victory over Ryan Garcia in April, Gervonta Davis said that he is ‘abso-f***ing-lutely’ the face of boxing.
It was a sentiment expressed years prior by Floyd Mayweather, who took the Baltimore puncher under his wing and built his career. ‘Money’ May said that ‘Tank’ would undoubtedly be the standout star of the sport.
The success of the Garcia fight backs up those claims. The gate was one of the most successful in the history of Las Vegas, beaten only by events involved Mayweather and Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez.
Davis’ seventh round stoppage that night also cemented him as one of the best lightweights in the world, and there are still bigger fights out there for him.
In fact, many feel that he’s not faced enough top-level contenders 29 fights into his career, with match-ups against Shakur Stevenson, Devin Haney, Teofimo Lopez and more all still untouched. It’s something he seems to agree with.
Asked by Open Thoughts if he was ‘the king of boxing,’ ‘Tank said no.
“No, I’m not the king of boxing. Yet.”
What will it take to make that happen?
“Whoop a couple more n****s asses.”
Most observers of the sport still give that honour to Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez, the four-weight world champion who has built an incredible following over the span of an 18-year, 64-fight career.
The Mexican is fresh off another defence of his undisputed super-middleweight status and may have a huge fight coming against countryman David Benavidez in 2024.
‘Tank’ will look get busy then too after a prison stint halted his momentum this year. The first man up is rumoured to be Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz – one of only two fighters to take Davis the distance.
A rematch win may set him up to compete for a vacant lightweight title should Devin Haney be stripped after a more up to 140lbs.