Heavyweight boxing legend, Mike Tyson, has outlined the two main threats to Gervonta Davis in the lightweight division.
Davis looked comfortable against Ryan Garcia in a 136lb catchweight clash last weekend, ending the bout with a body shot in the seventh-round.
Now, his focus should be on the lightweight titles – all held by Devin Haney – but there are plenty of other contenders in the revitalised division with the same goal.
In an interview with Pro Wrestling Bits, Tyson praised the ability of ‘Tank’ Davis but warned of two 135lbers who could be able to put an end to his undefeated record, alluding to whispers that Davis struggled in sparring against a couple of fellow lightweights.
“It’s a great possibility [he could retire unbeaten] but then you’ve got Devin Haney and you’ve got Shakur. They are the only two guys who are possibly a threat to him”
“I’m disgusted that he only gets compared to me, there are so many other great fighters [that he reminds me of], Pernell Whittaker, Floyd Mayweather, he’s a bruiser too when he wants to be a bruiser. He’s a special fighter. So, his only threats [are] Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson.”
“They are experienced. I know they boxed before, and some people got the advantage over others in sparring. Sparring is not like fighting. For some reason, people don’t fight as hard as they spar and some people don’t train as hard as they fight, there’s some strange dynamics in that.”
Whilst Davis will be hoping of a fast-track route to a world title fight following his victory over Garcia, it is likely that the hard-hitting former super-featherweight champion will have to wait for his chance.
Haney is scheduled to make a second defence of his undisputed title against pound-for-pound superstar, Vasily Lomachenko, on May 20.
Following Haney-Lomachenko, Top Rank Promoter, Bob Arum, has laid out his intentions for a fight between Shakur Stevenson and the winner, meaning ‘Tank’ may well need to be patient and look to fight for the titles in 2024.