By: Hans Themistode
Slow down the coronation and pump the breaks on the victory parades.
Gervonta Davis (23-0, 22 KOs) may have defeated Yuriorkis Gamboa (30-3, 18 KOs) via 12th round stoppage at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, but it wasn’t the sort of performance that any of us were expecting to see.
Gamboa is a gold medalist and former multiple division world champion, but he’s also 38 years old. If you want to forget about his age than sure, no problem. In the co main event of the night we did see 37 year old Jean Pascal and 36 year old Badou Jack provide us with one of the best fights of the year.
So casting age to the side, Davis still should have gotten rid of Gamboa in much quicker fashion. The former champion did after all tear his Achilles tendon in the second round and somehow managed to fight essentially one leg.
For his efforts, Gamboa deserves a badge of honor, Davis though, should return back to the drawing board. Issues with his weight coming in coupled with what seemed to be a lack of stamina left many wondering just how serious did he take this fight?
Still, even with those negative points, Davis is a star with the potential to become a constant fixture on the pound for pound rankings.
Following his win, he claimed that he was the top dog in the division.
Is that right?
If he truly believes that then he should have no problem taking on any, if not all of the names on this list of opponents.
Josh Taylor
Josh Taylor currently campaigns one division higher at 140 pounds, but these two have a bit of history with one another. Taylor picked up the biggest win of his career earlier this year in October when he defeated then undefeated Regis Prograis. The win not only brought Taylor another world title, but many now view him as the best in the division. Shortly after his win, the two were seen going back and forth on Twitter. Davis most notably revealed that he would move up in weight to take Taylor and not only beat him, but stop him. The talk on Twitter was fun, but now it’s time to prove it.
Vasiliy Lomachenko
We all know that Lomachenko has been chomping at the bit for a matchup with Davis. Too many times have we heard excuses as to why the contest won’t come to fruition. Now that they are both at the same weight class, there is no reason as to why it can’t and won’t happen. Technically, Lomachenko is already wrapped up at the moment as he is slated to take on Teofimo Lopez in April of 2020. Still, if given the choice between Lopez and Davis, Lomachenko would choose Davis ten out ten times. Do I really need to list the reasons as to why this contest needs to take place next? No. This would be hands down one of the biggest fights in all of boxing.
Leo Santa Cruz
In terms of big names, there just isn’t many that can justify headlining a pay-per-view. Leo Santa Cruz is an interesting fighter. He’s one of the best regardless of weight class, but he will have to move up in order to make this contest a reality. His resume is reminiscent of a graveyard for great fighters. He’s beaten Carl Frampton, Abner Mares (twice) and Kiki Martinez to name a few. Also don’t forget, Cruz is a four weight world champion.
A win over Davis would gift Cruz with a fifth. That’s the sort of opportunity that Cruz just isn’t likely to pass up on.
