Now, How About Gervonta Davis Fight Someone Who Matters

When you watch Gervonta “Tank” Davis, your eyes will have to fight the desire to pop when you see the speed, power, and pure athletic talent on display. And let there be no doubt, all that talent your orbs are taking in is real—unfortunately, his competition has not been.

Yes, I know that’s a harsh statement—it’s not like everyone Davis has fought is a bum or a tomato can, but for a guy with P4P and future of boxing aspirations, there is no one on his gaudy 27-0 with 25 KOs resume that’s going to give any fight fan the misconception that Davis has fought a single great fighter.

Photo Credit: Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME

Of all the marquee names in boxing, Davis is the most protected of the bunch. To think that people accuse true champions like Spence and Canelo of ducking top-flight competition when Davis is out there walking and talking like a mallard. Even last night, against the now former interim WBA lightweight belt holder, Davis was once again in the ring with a pretender. Like Davis, Rolando “Rolly” Romero entered the ring with a spotless 14-0 record with 12 KOs to boot. But if you think Davis’ resume isn’t LinkedIn ready, Romero’s is practically on the fast-food level.

Despite all his pre-fight bravado about taking Davis out in the first—I’m shocked, shocked I say, that a fighter would engage in pre-fight hype—Romero hung around until about halftime until Davis landed the mother of all hooks and put Romero to sleep in the sixth.

Photo Credit: Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME

The result, however devastating, should not only be seen as unsurprising but not particularly thrilling either. I mean, seriously, people dropped $74.99 worth of their hard-earned to watch Davis drop a guy who we all knew was a better talker than fighter. You can get a pretty good steak dinner for that price and feel far more sustained after consuming it than you must have felt watching that fight’s inevitable conclusion.

Davis is good enough to merit a pricey PPV fight, but not until he fights someone who would be a true challenge. And hey, maybe that master blaster of a hook against a guy whose name you’re sure to forget by the middle of next week is worth passing on a good night out at a B+ restaurant. Maybe you have so much disposable income that burning it in the fireplace of a substandard match-up is no big deal. Or maybe you love boxing so much that you’d throw money at any mismatch that comes your way. If that’s the case, well, God bless and pass the Redenbacher.

The rest of us, who actually want to see quality fights with two boxers squaring off at the same level of skill and talent, this simply won’t do. It’s not like Davis is taking up residence in a moribund division with no quality opponents either.

There are fights to be made for Davis that are worth salivating over: Loma, Haney, Kambosos, Lopez, Garcia—hell, even Richard Commey would be a more serious opponent than anyone Davis has fought thus far (all apologies to Isaac Cruz). It’s worth noting that Davis didn’t call out anyone from the upper echelon of the lightweight division in the post-fight interview. Notable and typical.

Let me handle business July 16th I’m going to get tank, he was screaming the whole fight I’m next so let it be.. December let’s get it #TankRolly

— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) May 29, 2022

Truth is, if Davis’ next fight isn’t against one of those fighters from that last paragraph (Commey aside), Tank is going to quickly descend from the king of weak matchups to a court jester, an absolute farce. That would be a crying shame because as I’ve already said, this isn’t about talent, athleticism, or skill. It’s about will. We know Davis has the first three attributes; we need to see if he has the fourth.

The time is now.