“El Explosivo” Machado is Furious About Gervonta Davis

The distaste was apparent on the face of the Puerto Rican fighter Alberto Machado when they mentioned the name of the American southpaw Gervonta Davis, the current holder of the WBA super world super featherweight title.

Machado considers it an injustice that the organization granted Gervonta “Tank” Davis (20-0-0, 19 KOs) the title of “Super World Champion” after defeating the Argentinian Jesus “El Jinete” Cuéllar, in a bout that took place on April 21^st of last year at the Barclays Center in New York where Davis knocked out Cuéllar in the third round.

According to Machado (20-0-0, 16 KOs), his reputation stems from his victory over the Panamanian Jezreel Corrales, which took place in October of last year. He states that there hasn’t been a logical or convincing argument from the WBA pertaining to why the title of “super world champion” was given to Davis while he instead was given the title of “regular champion”.

“I congratulate Davis, but all the boxing fans recognize that the real champion’s (super world champion) name is Alberto Machado” said the Puerto Rican a few hours ago, when he took a small break during his training session. He has been preparing for his next fight against the American Yuandale “Money Shot” Evans, which takes place the 27^th of October at the Madison Square Garden in New York.

“I dethroned the person who was champion at the time, everybody knows the sacrifice and dedication that comes with that”, added Machado, who knocked out Corrales at 2:18 of the eighth round, October 21^st of last year in Verona, New York.

Gilberto Jesús Mendoza, the president of the WBA, was recently invited to the IBF convention. In an attempt to deal with the wave of comments, mainly coming from the Puerto Rican boxer and his representatives, Mendoza stated, “There had been a mix up, because when the Machado vs Corrales fight took place, Corrales was no longer the “super world champion” since the WBA didn’t have another champion.”

Returning to the Machado vs Evans fight, it will be the co-main event in anticipation of Daniel “Miracle Man” Jacobs (34-2-0, 29 KOs) vs the Ukrainian Sergiy Derevyanchenko (12-0-0, 10 KO’s). They will be competing for the vacant IBF middleweight title.

Machado, the 28-year-old southpaw, will defend his super featherweight title for the second time. Corrales lost the title on the scales, leaving only the Puerto Rican with an opportunity to seize the belt.

Nine months later, this past July 21st, Machado won by unanimous decision against the southpaw, Rafael Mensah, who was undefeated at the time with 31 victories, 23 of them coming by way of knockout. Mensah, born in Ghana, suffered a knockdown in the opening round but regrouped and was able to continue until the end. The three score cards coincided in a unanimous decision of (120-107) in favor of Machado. This was Mensah’s first fight outside of the African country.

In California, under the guidance of prestigious trainer Freddie Roach, Machado spoke to the Puerto Rican media via phone. He restated that, since December, he has been training very hard for this fight. With the help of his new technical coach, he has perfected his mechanics and eliminated his flaws, allowing him to increase the power of his punches. He believes this will be a determining factor in the outcome of this fight against Evans, who is debuting in the 130lbs division.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, the 29-year-old “Money Shot” Evans defeated the Puerto Rican Luis “KO King” Rosa by split decision on November 10^th of 2017, in front of an enthusiastic crowd in his hometown, obtaining the vacant World Boxing Council Continental Americas Featherweight Title.

Evans’ only professional loss came in the first round against the Dominican Javier “El Abejon” Fortuna on April 27^th of 2012.  Evans embarked on a three year lay-off but has since returned and is now on a four-fight win streak, the most recent being against Rosa.

Translated by E.G. for J.J. Alvarez of Boxeo.tv

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