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Is Gervonta Davis Boxing’s New “Money” Man?

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This past Saturday, June 26, Gervonta “Tank” Davis scored an 11th-round stoppage over previously undefeated Mario Barrios at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta. With cornerman Floyd Mayweather Jr offering advice and encouragement, Davis won his fourth title in his third weight division.

The 26-year-old Davis is an outstanding talent, but winning titles in multiple divisions doesn’t wow us, not with 17 weight classes and the WBA tossing around titles like confetti. However, we stood up and took notice when Showtime announced that the fight was fought before a sellout crowd of 16,570 – this in a city where professional boxing has been relatively moribund since the heyday of Atlanta’s own Evander Holyfield.

Perhaps we should have seen this coming. On Dec. 28, 2019, Davis drew 14,129 at this same venue for a less attractive match with Yuriorkis Gamboa and with a competing attraction playing out roughly a mile down the road, the Peach Bowl, where LSU and Oklahoma played to a Peach Bowl record 78,347. (One could have taken in both attractions as the football game was over before the Davis-Gamboa fight started, but the football game overlapped with the undercard and it’s doubtful that many people took in both events as the fastest way to get from one venue to the other was by foot.)

Several years ago, Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe predicted that Gervonta Davis would be the next fighter to rake in “Mayweather money” over the course of his career. We wrote that off as promoter-talk. For one thing, it didn’t strike us that Gervonta had the personality to transcend his sport. With gloves off, he had no charisma whatsoever.

But charisma, I have come to learn, is in the eye of the beholder. And as a guy from a white neighborhood who grew up in the horse-and-buggy age (translation: before home computers), I will never understand how some people – shallow people, by my reckoning — got to become “influencers.”

That puts me in the same league with the great boxing promoter Bob Arum who readily concedes that he did a poor job of promoting Mayweather who signed with Arum at age 19 coming out of the amateur ranks and stayed with Arum’s company through his first 35 pro fights.

Under Arum, Mayweather was “Pretty Boy,” a hackneyed nickname. When he freed himself from Arum’s “chokehold” (his word) he morphed into “Money,” a nickname that rubbed old-timers the wrong way and that was the whole purpose. Flaunting his wealth, he became a villain, but not among the hip-hop crowd with which he identified. And there was money waiting to be plumbed from the hip-hop crowd which Arum could not foresee. Indeed, after leaving Arum, Mayweather participated in six of the top 10 fights in Nevada boxing history as measured by gate receipts and in the process accumulated enough money to live like a Maharajah.

In Atlanta this past Saturday, the crowd erupted when Gervonta Davis came out of his dressing room with the rapper Lil Baby leading the procession. I wouldn’t have recognized Lil Baby (birth name Dominique Armani Jones) if he had been sitting across from me in my living room, but that’s irrelevant. Lil Baby is hot right now having recently won the BET award for Best Male Hip Hop Artist. By associating with the rapper, who lives in Atlanta where Davis owns a home, the boxer was “building his brand” as his mentor Floyd Mayweather Jr would have put it.

In common with Floyd, Gervonta has had some brushes with the law. He was charged with two counts of misdemeanor battery after he was caught on camera getting rough with his former girlfriend, the mother of his child, at a celebrity basketball game in Miami in February. Last we checked, he had 14 misdemeanor counts pending relating to a late-night incident in Baltimore when the Lamborghini he was driving ran a red light and was involved in a hit-and-run accident.

Floyd Mayweather’s misdeeds never seriously damaged his core fan base – or if they did, a horde of new fans quickly filled the breach — so one assumes that Gervonta’s brushes with the legal system, so long as they stay in the misdemeanor range —  won’t seriously dent his chances of becoming the new Mayweather, i.e., the sport’s biggest earner.

One didn’t have to be a fan of Floyd Mayweather Jr to appreciate his ring artistry. The same goes for Gervonta Davis who isn’t the defensive wizard that Floyd was, but is a rare talent.

By the way, although the turnout for Davis-Barrios was certainly impressive, it paled beside the turnout at the 1998 fight in Atlanta between Evander Holyfield and Vaughn Bean. Holyfield was at the peak of his popularity, having stopped Michael Moorer in a title unification fight after back-to-back victories over Mike Tyson. Staged in the Georgia Dome, home of the Falcons, that fight drew 41,357. The concessionaire selling binoculars to folks in the cheap seats reportedly did a brisk business.

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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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