Gervonta Davis recently said that the boxing world is sleeping on him and that “they woke up a beast” for his fight against Rolando Romero on Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Showtime pay-per-view.
The knockout-artist Davis (26-0, 24 KOs) is ranked No. 10 on BoxingScene.com’s pound-for-pound list.
In his most recent fight, he won a hard-fought unanimous decision against Isaac Cruz while dealing with a left-hand injury midway through the fight. The fight snapped a 16-fight knockout streak dating back to 2014.
Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe told BoxingScene.com in an interview that Davis should not be judged solely on his last performance.
“Tank does not get the credit that he deserves. For whatever reason, he doesn’t get his credit. Tank is the best fighter across 130 to 140 pounds without a doubt – hands down. There are no fighters out there with a big name like his within his weight,” said Ellerbe.
“He’s not getting pound-for-pound credit either. But personally, I don’t care about that. It’s a subjective list. At the end of the day, you can’t feed your family off a pound-for-pound list. You can’t go into the bank and ask for a loan to buy a house and say, ‘I’m number so and so on the pound for pound list.’ It’s an achievement, but it doesn’t put a single dollar in your pocket. But putting asses in seats do, and he’s great at doing that. He’s one of the best fighters in the world. On Saturday night, he will remind everyone who’s been sleeping on him.”
Ellerbe said it will be another sellout for Davis come fight night.
Davis continues to be an attraction no matter the market he headlines. His last six fights have been spread across Los Angeles, Atlanta, San Antonio, and Baltimore.
Despite Davis making overtures that the Romero fight will be his last one tied to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and company, Ellerbe believes the boxer is on the right path to increased stardom with big-time fights on the horizon.
“Tank is just 27 years old. It’s a process. We had a plan all along for Floyd too. He would do his part and we would do our part. That’s been our plan all along for Tank. Sometimes things don’t happen fast enough as the naysayers and haters want, but my focus is f— the naysayers and haters. I know what I’m doing. We have a great team with me, Floyd, Al Haymon, and Stephen Espinoza. When we put our heads together, we produce a big star who is the cream of the crop.
“It’s all about timing for when these big fights happen. It has to make sense for both sides. I tried to make the Ryan Garcia fight on two occasions. We tried to fight Tevin Farmer, as well as other guys I don’t want to mention. Every promoter out there wants to be in the position we’re in. It’s very hard to build your guy into an attraction and a ticket seller. If Bob Arum was doing this sh!t, nobody would be saying anything about it. Because you best believe, he has a stable of fighters and wants his guys fighting his guys. He’s not going to hand the titles to Mayweather Promotions or PBC. Just because you win the belts, it doesn’t make you a star. Tank doesn’t need any belts to be a star. Tank is willing to fight everybody.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com.