Gervonta Davis is weighing up who his next opponent should be, with WBC champion Shakur Stevenson and IBF title holder Vasyl Lomachenko the leading candidates to take him on
Who next for Gervonta Tank Davis? The WBA lightweight champion doesn’t much care. He will take on anybody.
Nevertheless the obvious candidates present themselves, and if the Saudis want to extend their influence in boxing they should be on the blower immediately to WBC champion Shakur Stevenson and IBF champ Vasyl Lomachenko.
It appears the latter is closer. That would have been some battle in Loma’s peak years. Loma had almost 400 amateur fights before turning over. Had he crossed to the paid ranks even five years earlier he might have gone down as one of the greatest fighters the world has ever seen.
Stevenson is different. His contract with Bob Arum’s Top Rank has one fight to run. I doubt anyone will be rushing in to sign him because the excitement in the ring does not match his talent.
People want to be entertained. They want to see action, punches thrown. That’s why Davis is such a star. He’s aggressive and thrilling. You can’t take your eyes off him. In the early rounds last week it looked like Frank Martin was on top, but he was never truly convincing.
He could never quite push Davis back. None can. Davis is relentless, and sure enough he got through in the end, breaking Martin down and ending it in the eighth with a chilling uppercut.
Lomachenko would be the fight. He is still a great fighter. But if he stands with Tank I think he gets chinned too. And that’s some achievement.
Stevenson has a chance against Davis because of his natural speed. That’s a problem for Davis. I don’t like the way Stevenson fights but he is very effective, especially when he is wary of his opponent.
Davis is a southpaw. He comes at you, hunts you down. He is exactly the kind of boxer I tried to be. I was not the most skilful, but I was always on the front foot and people loved it.
Davis actually wants to make fights. He wants to be involved in the big nights. He is a throwback in that regard, and he believes he has the beating of everybody. I agree.
His explosiveness, brilliantly exemplified with his celebratory back flips, is some attribute to have. He can fire off shots in quick bursts and when he lands with either hand, the end is nigh.
Lightweight is probably the limit for him. There is enough meat on the bone at 135 pounds to keep him fed, and at that weight he is fully optimized. A pocket rocket as devastating as any in the ring today.
