Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis is the undefeated 21-year-old who is making a lot of noise in the boxing world.
With an impressive record of 15 wins and 14 coming by way of KO, many people are tipping Davis as a future superstar.
His appeal doesn’t just come from his down to earth and grounded manner but also from his explosive boxing style.
At 5ft 6 and 130lbs he appears to be the Mike Tyson of the featherweight division.
Far from being a one dimensional power puncher, not that Mike was, Gervonta’s boxing skills are obvious. So much so that it took very little time for Floyd Mayweather to recognise the stars potential and sign him to Mayweather Promotions.
Gervonta’s reputation preceded him at the Mayweather gym coming from the TMT amateurs who had fought Davis on the east coast. Then while sparring at the Mayweather boxing gym in Vegas, Floyd seen the skill and potential ‘Tank’ had in person. One week later the undefeated pound-for-pound king had taken him under his wing.
But before all the glitz and glamour of Vegas, Davis had a tough up bringing in Maryland, Baltimore.
With his mother on drugs and his father in and out of jail, from an early age the young Davis was removed from their care by the state. Luckily a few years later he managed to leave state care and went to live with his grandmother.
“So when I came home (to his Grandmothers) I was the new kid on the block, new kid in school so I was fighting a lot. One time my uncle seen me fight on the block and he wanted to turn it into something positive. So my uncle took me to the gym and I’ve been here ever since.” Davis told HustleBoss.com.
Now at 21, with 3 Silver Glove championships, 1 Golden Glove championship and a National championship, Davis is looking set to take the featherweight and junior lightweight divisions by storm.
Despite receiving a $60,000 jeep from Mayweather, Davis says the most valuable thing Floyd has given him is his wisdom, both in and out of the ring. These teachings from Mayweather will surely prove invaluable, as the young Davis develops his career.
Back in the ring, his most recent victory was against the game Guillermo Avila (16 – 6, 13 KO) who was getting hit with some hard shots but kept coming forward. This was great match up for ‘Tank’ as he was being tested, which is something every young fighter needs in order to see where they can develop.
The quality of his offence was spectacular, throwing vicious shots to his opponent’s body and showing a real competitive streak when pushed. At one point he tripled up on his straight right and some uppercuts he threw had very bad intentions. I could also see some shoulder roll defence which was obviously coming from Floyd.
The fight was stopped in the 6th and Davis took his perfect record to 15 and 0.
From a development stand point I think Davis could utilise his jab more and pace himself a bit better to ensure he doesn’t get gassed mid-fight. He also seemed to be getting caught with one too many unnecessary shots, but all this just comes from a lack of experience and can easily be fixed with proper training and time.
Nobody can predict the future but I wouldn’t be surprised if Davis turned out to be the next superstar of boxing, and unified some of division titles along the way. Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure, Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis is definitely one to watch.
– Louis McGee / @whatachampion87
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