SCALE FAIL, AGAIN: Gervonta Over Weight, Has To Sweat Off 1.2 Pounds For Gamboa Bout

And what was I saying, just yesterday, about the kid seeming to have stepped up two notches in the maturity department?

On Friday, it was a half step back for Gervonta Davis, the ascending gunner who seeks to become a PPV attraction, and start collecting serious revenue, as a draw to even casuals, folks who maybe hadn't tuned in to a pugilist since Mike Tyson was a thing.

Davis, set to clash in a showcase scrap against Yuriorkis Gamboa, now 38 years old and perhaps five plus years past his peak, weighed 136.2 pounds in Atlanta on Friday.

There was a pause as Jimmy Lennon announced the poundage and you knew that many in the joint were like: Really?

Paul Williams had a look on his face, as he looked at Davis, who didn't meet his gaze, on the stage, his head bowed.

A 22-0 record…a star on the rise….”initial weight is 136.2 pounds,” said Lennon, noting that he has “one hour” to make the 135 pound limit for the title fight, which will screen on Showtime.

He stepped on the scale after a wait, with Lennon telling the watchers that Davis was enroute. We wonder, we suspect…was Al Haymon right hand man Sam Watson on the phone with a Davids team-member, getting an update about the impending scale fail?

Gamboa hit his mark; the Cuban born scrapper was 134.6.

The WBA then said, after the weigh in snafu, that  Tank could have up to two hours to make the weight. Right before 6 PM ET, he came back to the scene of the crime. He yanked down his drawers, a towel was held up, and he was 134.8. The fight was on.

And the mood on the stage was not what it should have been. Evander Holyfield was there, he had a bit of a blank look on his visage. How did that happen, maybe he pondered.

Others surely did…

Davis is now at 135 after campaigning at 130. In July, he made 130 to fight Ricardo Nunez, and some had flashbacks…Davis was two pounds over for a 2017 fight against Francisco Fonseca, after getting to the weigh in late. He didn't try and cut the poundage and so gave up a claim to fight for the IBF 130 crown he'd been holding. That was underneath the Floyd Mayweather-Connor McGregor main event. So yes, it was seen as a bad misstep, for all the eyes that were on the opportunity knocking. And this time, too, because we'd been so impressed with Davis' temperament going into this tiff. His rep, and his checking account, would take a hit.

Half a step back, and then another quarter step, as he took out his frustration on Gamboa, shoving him, for no discernible reasons, as they were about to break their staredown.

Tempers flared, posses milled and muttered, and why? Davis slithered away, the instigator not sticking around for the ramifications.

Yeah, kid is still that work in progress, like us all, but he's just doing it under hotter lights.

Badou Jack, never one to provide un-necessesary drama, was 174.6 pounds. And Jean Pascal, the Haitian-Canadian, coming off a surprise thriller win over Marcus Browne, weighed 174.8 pounds. Both looked ripped and relaxed.

They had acted as professionals, and did the job before their task at hand on fight night. Davis didn't. Davis once again has questions to ask himself; will he step up and figure out how and why this happened, AGAIN?

FLASH QUOTES:

FLOYD MAYWEATHER

“This is great. It’s not just about boxing being in one place. It’s about thinking outside the box so I said, ‘Why not?’ Atlanta is a great place with so many beautiful people. It’s just a great city.

“It’s all about taking chances and rolling the dice. It’s the same thing I did in my career: Took chances and rolled the dice. There is a lot of great talent that comes out of Atlanta, a lot of great boxing talent.

“When [Davis] was a kid I remember when I was on tour with Canelo a young kid came up to me and asked for an autograph and to sign his phone and take a picture. Then I saw something special in him when he came to my gym a couple of times. He was undefeated as a pro after a few fights and I said in two years I can make you a world champion. And we did it.”

JEAN PASCAL

“We are two warriors and we are two gentlemen so people are very excited for this fight and we are going to put on a show tomorrow night.

“[Jack] went up to my weight class. This is my weight class and I’m the champion so welcome to my weight class, Badou. It’s simple why I’m still here: Hard work and discipline.”

BADOU JACK

“I’m just excited to become a three-time world champion. He’s my friend after the fight, but for now we are enemies.”

JOSE UZCATEGUI

“I’m coming back out and showing everyone I’m a knockout artist like I’ve been and I’m getting the knockout. [Caleb] Plant is my only mission and to get the rematch.”

LIONELL THOMPSON

“It was super hard [to make weight]. Anything in life worth having is super hard. I knew it would be work, but we did it. As far as him saying he’s a knockout artist, I don’t know if you’ve heard the saying, ‘The devil is a liar.’”

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING COUNTDOWN Live Streaming Online – 6:45 p.m. ET/3:45 p.m. PT

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