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Gervonta vs. Shakur: Street Fight or Boxing?

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Gervonta “Tank” Davis — out of Baltimore — is a fan-friendly, undefeated (21-0, 20 KOs), two-time super featherweight champion. An all-action fighter, he brings the heat whenever and wherever he fights, operating like a mini-Tyson.

Shakur “Fearless” Stevenson—out of Virginia by way of Newark, NJ—won a Silver Medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics and is also undefeated as a pro (11-0, 6 KOs). In a moment of “unbridled” modesty, Floyd Mayweather Jr. called him “the next Mayweather.”

Davis (pictured) and Stevenson used to be good friends but apparently no more. The two have been feuding on twitter.

Shakur, a featherweight, has now called out Tank, saying he wants him at 130—and with his win against Christopher Diaz on the Crawford-Khan undercard, the call-out quickly becomes more meaningful and likely will reignite their twitter war.

What’s not quite clear is whether such a fight would be held in the ring or out in the street because of the many, many things they have in common, one, allegedly, is engaging in nasty street fights.

A recent and widely viewed video appears to show Stevenson, accompanied by fellow boxer David Grayton, in the middle of a parking garage brawl in Miami Beach in an incident that occurred nearly a year ago. Stevenson was in Miami Beach to celebrate his 21st birthday. It was not so much a brawl as it was a beatdown by the two boxers including a vicious kick at the end on a downed victim who already had received several flush shots to the face. A woman with the victim was also assaulted, suffering cuts and bruises. Afterwards, the two grabbed each other’s hands in a somewhat bizarre scene and fled to their hotel where they were arrested.

The video was first posted by slaterscoops.com which revealed that Stevenson and Crayton were arrested on July 1 and charged with misdemeanor battery. By the time the video came to light, the matter had quietly been resolved. Stevenson’s promoter Bob Arum seemed to have been involved in the resolution.

Here is what Arum said according to an article by Niall Doran in Boxing News: “We knew the facts and we knew that he was in a place that he shouldn’t have been at. We had a long talk with him and luckily the people around him, his grandfather who raised him, coach Kay (Koroma) who has a big influence on him and Andre Ward and James Prince who are his managers, took him aside and talked to him. It will never happen again I assure you. He is a great, great kid and he understands what his responsibilities are. He’s not a wild kid and he’s going to be fine. I’m very comfortable with how he’s being raised.”

Let’s hope Arum is correct.

Gervonta Davis

On August 1, 2017, an arrest warrant was issued for Gervonta Davis for an alleged assault. The charge was later reduced from first-degree aggravated assault to misdemeanor second-degree assault.

At the court, Anthony Wheeler, a long-time friend of Gervonta, complained that he was diagnosed with a concussion after Davis punched him on the side of the head with a ‘gloved fist.’ Wheeler subsequently dropped the charges. The Baltimore Sun reported that Tank and Wheeler both shook hands, embraced, and walked out of the courtroom together. All’s Well That Ends Well.

But there’s more.

According to TMZ, Davis was arrested in Washington, DC, in the early morning of Sept. 14, 2018, and charged with disorderly conduct after a dispute over a $10,000 bar bill. And then on February 17 of this year, according to TMZ and other sources, Davis was involved in an incident that began inside an upscale shopping mall in Virginia.

As things heated up, Tank and the other man took it to the streets and engaged in a fistfight with closed-fist punches being landed around the upper body. As people tried to break it up, both men fled but the police arrived and arrested them for disorderly conduct. They were booked and processed at a nearby station. Ten days after the incident, a warrant was issued for Davis’s arrest.

Leonard Ellerbe of Mayweather Promotions, which promotes Davis, told ESPN “We’ll let the judicial system play out….Obviously, this is just an allegation…Again, it just seems odd to me that a black man, allegedly, pushes or shoves — and I’m just reading what the TMZ article says — a police officer and he doesn’t get arrested on the spot, then a couple of weeks later, then they issue an arrest warrant based on their internal investigation. That just seems a little odd to me.”

The police reportedly made numerous attempts to contact Davis by telephone to serve the warrant but received no response.

Tank recently tweeted “Lies lies lies” (9:16 AM – 5 Mar 2019).

The case is still ongoing. Gervonta could well be exonerated and hopefully he will be, but these incidents, whether expunged, dismissed or dropped, are not good for boxing. The recent birth of a daughter seems to have grounded Tank and his recent tweet to wit: LOVE IS LOVE is not the tweet of someone who is in the wrong lane.

Let’s wrap this up with a quote from Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza: “I think the sky is the limit for Gervonta Davis…You put those two elements together — the likability and charisma outside the ring and the entertainment value inside the ring — and he has the potential, if he stays on this track, to be one of the biggest names in the sport.”

Ted Sares is a lifetime member of Ring 10, and a member of Ring 4 and its Boxing Hall of Fame. He also is an Auxiliary Member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). He is an active power lifter and Strongman competitor in the Grand Master class and is competing in 2019.

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel

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Undercard Results from the Canelo-Charlo Card in Las Vegas

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In a heavyweight battle slated for 10, Frank Sanchez (23-0, 16 KOs) stopped LA trial horse Scott Alexander (17-6-2) after four frames. Alexander’s corner attempted to stop it in the waning seconds of the fourth, but the referee did not see it and the bell rang before the fight was waived off.

Alexander had one big moment. In the opening round, he rocked Sanchez with a short right hand. But from there, it was all Sanchez in a rather messy fight.

A Miami-based Cuban defector, Frank Sanchez came in ranked #3 by the WBO, #4 by the WBC, and #5 by the IBF. His best win came in this building, a comfortable decision over Efe Ajagba in October of 2021. Alexander also fought here. In his previous visit to the T-Mobile, he was knocked out in the opening round by Zhilei Zhang.

Former WBO light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk, in his third fight back since ending his retirement, improved to 20-0 (16) with a second-round stoppage of 38-year-old Brazilian Isaac Rodrigues (28-5). Gvozdyk, 36, left the sport after getting beat up by Artur Beterbiev, but got the itch and is pursuing a fight with Dmitry Bivol.

In an 8-round middleweight fight, 2012 U.S. Olympian Terrell Gausha (24-3-1) won a majority decision over Keandre Leatherwood (23-9-1). The judges had it 76-76 and 78-74 twice. Once a highly regarded prospect, Gausha is spinning his wheels. Leatherwood, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, had been stopped four times.

Guadalajara super lightweight Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela advanced to 28-3-1 (17 KOs) with a sixth-round stoppage of overmatched Colombia import Yves Gabriel Solano (15-3).  This was redemption of sorts for Valenzuela who lost an unpopular 12-round decision to Montana Love in his last outing inside these walls.

Kazakh super middleweight Bek Nuramaganbat (11-0) continued his fast ascent of the 168-pound ladder with a third-round stoppage of Bola Osundairo. A 30-year-old Chicago-based Nigerian, Osundairo was a 2021 USA National Champion at 178 pounds.

A four-round middleweight contest between Abilikhan Amankul (4-0-1, 4 KOs) and Joeshon James (7-0-2, 4 KOs) ended in a draw. Although he didn’t win, Sacramento’s James continued to exceed expectations. In previous contests he KOed previously undefeated Richard Brewart and fought to a draw with Top Rank signee Javier Martinez. Amankul, a 26-year-old Kazakh, lost a split decision to eventual gold medal winner Hebert Conceicao in the Tokyo Olympics.

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David Avila is ringside. Check back later for his report of the Canelo-Charlo fight and the main supporting bouts.

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Opetaia Demolishes Thompson in London; Wallin Upsets Gassiev in Turkey

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In his first defense of his IBF cruiserweight title, Australian southpaw Jai Opetaia demolished overmatched Jordan Thompson in the featured bout of a Matchroom card at London’s Wembley Arena. Opetaia (23-0, 18 KOs) overwhelmed Thompson (15-1) from the opening gun and had the six-foot-six Mancunian on the canvas twice before the match was waived off at the 20-second mark of round four.

An Olympian at the age of 16, Opetaia won the title 15 months ago with a unanimous decision over longtime title-holder Mairis Briedis. Noting that Opetaia broke his jaw in two places early in that contest, prominent Australian sporting journalist Simon Smale called it “one of the bravest, gutsiest, victories in Australian boxing history.”

Following that fight, Opetaia had to eat through a straw for several months. Hence, there were questions about whether his jaw would hold up and whether he would show ring rust in his first title defense. But the towering Thompson, whose nickname is Troublesome, although game, proved to be no trouble whatsoever for Opetaia who would be favored to beat any cruiserweight in the world, no matter the locale.

Opetaia may return to England for his next fight which would be a unification match with Bournemouth’s 18-1 Chris Billam-Smith who captured the WBO version of the 200-pound title in May with a surprisingly one-sided decision over favored Lawrence Okolie. The other cruiserweight title-holders are the well-traveled Badou Jack (WBC) and the French-Armenian boxer Arsen Goulamirian (WBA).

Four female fights were on the undercard including two 10-rounders, both of which were won by the “A side” Englishwomen.

In her first title defense, Ellie Scotney, a 25-year-old Londoner, retained her IBF world super bantamweight title and improved to 8-0 at the expense of 37-year-old Argentine veteran Laura Soledad Griffa (20-9). In a rather monotonous fight, Scotney won every round on two of the scorecards and nine rounds on the other.

Rhiannon Dixon, a 29-year-old southpaw, had a surprisingly easy time with Norwegian veteran Katharina Thanderz, a former world title challenger. Dixon (9-0) won every round on all three cards. Thanderz, who trains in Spain, declined to 16-2.

Wallin-Gassiev

In a 12-round heavyweight fight in Antalya, Turkey, Swedish southpaw Otto Wallin (26-1, 14 KOs) won a split decision over Murat Gassiev (30-2). This was a dull fight. Owing to various issues, Gassiev had answered the bell for only eight rounds in the previous seven years and his vaunted power had deserted him. True, he landed the harder punches, but Wallin, who kept pecking away with his jab, was far busier and won the fight on volume alone. Two of the judges had it 115-113 for the Swede who is 6-0 since going 12 rounds with Tyson Fury. The other judge scored it for Gassiev by a bizarre 117-111.

Opetaia-Thompson photo credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 254: Canelo vs Jermell Charlo in a Battle of Undisputed Champions

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LAS VEGAS-Less than the usual massive crowd gathered for boxing kingpin Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Jermell Charlo in the desert heat outside of the T-Mobile Arena on Friday afternoon. Usually the weigh-ins are slightly bigger for Mexico’s idol.

Is the declining crowd an indicator of Alvarez fans ebbing belief in his abilities?

Still, on Saturday night, two undisputed world champions from differing divisions will collide as Guadalajara, Mexico’s Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) meets Houston’s Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) at T-Mobile Arena for the super middleweight world championship. PPV.Com will stream the clash of champions.

This year has seen a hyper-speed uptick in champions fighting other champions, perhaps the result of watching their female counterparts Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor produce the biggest fight of 2022. This year several marquee collisions were spawned from lightweights to heavyweights.

Or maybe the pandemic lull created a twitch panic among the elite.

Charlo was one of those who had been sidelined while others like Gervonta “Tank” Davis, Naoya “Monster” Inoue and Canelo Alvarez filled their pockets with cash. And others like Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez gained undisputed glory.

Instead of watching on the sidelines, Charlo decided to make his move for greater glory by attempting to dethrone one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, if not the kingpin of boxing when it comes to money.

“If I accomplish this massive goal, it will be hard to top,” Charlo said a few weeks ago during his media workout. “I’ll be in the record book with the greats of boxing for a long time.”

Risks brings rewards.

Canelo, long a member of the boxing elite, has held his position as the box office king for many years now by taking the daunting risks throughout his boxing life.

“Jermell is right, I have nothing to prove. But this time I have something to prove to him,” said Alvarez while in Las Vegas on Wednesday. “He never believed in my skills. He’s been calling me out. Now I have an opportunity to show him my skills.”

Undisputed super welterweight will challenge undisputed super middleweight in a two-division jump not often seen, except for Henry Armstrong, Roberto Duran and Sugar Shane Mosley. It’s the road taken by those who seek to be great.

Both are 33 but the redhead Alvarez has been fighting professionally since he was 15. That’s a lot of bullets in the chamber he has already used. Charlo has height, speed and the ability to adapt to different styles. Stylistically, it’s a battle that makes even the skeptics take pause.

It all depends on Alvarez’s resiliency. Charlo has ring rust, while Alvarez seemingly has lost the hunger. Whose weakness will prove the greater?

“Now is the time for this fight. We’re in our primes and at our best,” said Charlo. “I wanna shake the doubters off and prove to the world why I”m in this position. There’s a reason I made it this far.”

Alvarez remembers being as hungry as Charlo.

“I never overlook any fighter,” Alvarez said. “I know what he’s going to bring and I’m ready.”

Undercard

Several other notable bouts are included on the pay-per-view card.

Former world titlists and current welterweight contenders Yordenis Ugas (27-5) and Mario Barrios (27-2) battle for an interim title set for 12 rounds.

Super welterweights Jesus Ramos (20-0, 16 KOs) and Erickson Lubin (25-2, 18 KOs) match skills  in a match that pits a southpaw veteran against an undefeated southpaw from Arizona. For the past three years Ramos has been moving up the ladder and was last seen pounding out highly-touted Joey Spencer. Can he survive Lubin who nearly toppled Sebastian Fundora?

Doors open at T-Mobile Arena at 2 p.m. Pacific Time.

Lampley is back

Legendary HBO announcer Jim Lampley was hired along with ace reporter Lance Pugmire who will co-host the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez versus Jermell Charlo showdown via viewer chat live on PPV.com.

It’s the same concept used by Monday Night Football that features former quarterback greats Peyton Manning and Eli Manning in alternative programming.

Lampley returns to boxing after a five-year absence following HBO’s yanking of the popular program that vaulted elite boxing to the top behind the likes of George Foreman, Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao.

The veteran announcer will be live streaming all the action on media platforms before and during the fight action. He was sorely missed by all who follow the sweet science.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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