By: Sean Crose
“I want to say sorry to you guys to have you all waiting,” Gervonta Davis stated. “That was very unprofessional of me.” The man had recently left the media waiting for a spell before engaging at a press conference to kick off the campaign for April’s superfight between himself and high flying Ryan Garcia. Popular fighters leave the media waiting all the time. What they don’t do all the time is apologize for it. That’s something about Baltimore native Davis that people often miss – the fact that, in spite of his troubles with the law, the man often comes across as polite, easygoing and rather warm. This, of course, is a simple observation, not a judgement of the man’s character one way or another. One aspect of Davis that isn’t open for debate, however, is the 28 year old’s resume.
The man has knocked out his opponent in all but two of his 28 fights. Suffice to say, he has never been defeated and has never fought to a draw. Heading into next week’s battle with the popular and hard hitting Garcia, Davis fully intends to keep his record a perfect one. Unlike Garcia, Davis has won world titles in numerous weight divisions. Although Davis has been called out repeatedly for not facing the “best opponents out there,” the bout with Garcia should put an end to that particular line of criticism. Suffice to say, Davis, who goes by the moniker of “Tank,” isn’t expected to lose to Garcia when he answer’s the bell at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile arena in a few days.
And then? Well, should Davis manage to pull out the win, he might well become the new face of boxing. Fighters like Canelo Alvarez and Anthony Joshua will still remain popular, of course, but Davis, despite the fact he’s pushing 30, is seen as a member of the new breed of boxers out there ready to take the helm of the sport. A victory over the fast and painfully powerful Garcia would place Davis right at the front of the pack.
And if he loses? What happens if it’s Garcia who ends up getting his hand raised in Las Vegas? Well, that all depends on how Davis is defeated. If the Garcia match ends up being this generation’s version of Leonard-Hearns 1, then no one’s stock is going to go down much. Yet if Davis is somehow wiped out by the confident Garcia, that will be another story entirely. It’s hard to imagine Tank Davis getting wiped out, though, either by Garcia or anyone else in the contemporary boxing scene. As with his personality, there’s more to Davis’ fight game than meets the eye.