‘Conquer the Moment’: The Unbeaten Path of Gervonta Davis

If you thought boxing was dead, then in Calvin Ford‘s (trainer of Gervonta Davis) views, you better reconsider your judgment at the promise of Ryan Garcia vs Gervonta Davis. At the L.A. Press Conference, Ford left the podium asserting how the future of boxing rested upon the shoulders of the two young athletes. According to Ford’s speech, not only does ‘Tank’ Davis vs ‘KingRy’ look forward to reviving the sport in 2023, but it also dares to inspire while simultaneously discovering newfound respect for boxing.

As Ford said, “It’s not dead. They [are] coming. This is the start. They (Davis and Garcia) [are] starting it off; bring that future behind them. We’re gonna put on a show that everybody gonna be like ‘Man, I want to fight’.” At the same conference, Davis, who will fight out of Baltimore, declared that he will walk Ryan Garcia to deep waters and drown him. In his own words, Garcia is “not a complete fighter” and ‘Tank’ believes after he is done with ‘KingRy’ Oscar De La Hoya and Joe Goosen will have to “pick him [Garcia] up” in the ring.

Ahead of Ryan Garcia vs. Gervonta Davis which Leonard Ellerbe believes will deliver “fireworks”, here is a look at the achievements, style, and previous fights of Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.

Taste of the title: the rise of Gervonta Davis

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Gervonta Davis took up boxing when he was five years old. Since his head was reportedly oversized,  compared to his body, one of his coaches gave him the nickname ‘Tank’. Qaadir Gurley, who recognized Gervonta’s talents at the Upton Boxing Gym, recommended the latter train with his father Calvin Ford. By the time Davis was sixteen, he had won the Police Athletic League Tournament, Ringside Tournament, and Silver Gloves. However, the biggest moment in his life arrived when he met Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2015.

As Mayweather Promotions claimed, ever since signing with the team, Davis exemplified “hard work and determination as well as the confidence in himself“. In 2017, ‘Tank’ squared off against Jose Pedraza in his first title fight. In the 7th round, with less than 50 seconds left on the clock, the southpaw pounded on a guarded-up and tired Pedraza with penetrating and thudding shots making complete use of his legs and hips. A vicious lead hook to the face dropped Pedraza on the ropes. Davis was now the IBF World Super Featherweight champion and on his way to bulldozing the likes of Liam Walsh, Hugo Ruiz, and Leo Santa Cruz among others.

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A vicious southpaw: the game-plan of unbeaten Davis

There is an established pattern in which ‘Tank’ approaches his fights in the ring. First, Gervonta Davis measures his opponent’s reach. Next, he investigates his opponent’s responses while standing in close proximity to him. His fight with Mario Barrios (then 26-0-0) demonstrated one of his most technical and mature fighting. ‘Tank’ (5′ 5½″) patiently measured the taller Mario’s (6′ 0″) reach in the first round. As soon as round 2 began, Davis started understanding the equation in front of him. Despite being the shorter fighter, as reported by Boxing Scene, in rounds 5, 8, and 10, Davis landed over 40% of his shots on Barrios.

Whereas, in the round in which Barrios scored the highest, the 6′ 0″ tall fighter was able to land only 4 out of his 12 fired shots on Davis. This tells us that Davis can not only capitalize on a sweet spot to score a knockout, but he can also defend himself well, patiently avoiding shots in the ring. A balanced mixture of aggression and defense marks Gervonta’s boxing.

The knockout artist

Davis can take punches as well while fighting. Although Barrios lost, the 6′ 0″ tall fighter landed some accurate and powerful punches on Davis. In round 10, Barrios hit Davis with a shovel hook followed by a right hook to the body while in close proximity. Davis not only ate those punches, but he also walked through fire to land his. He confronted Barrios and dropped the latter with a left uppercut to the lower body. Hence, timing is another aspect of Gervonta’s impressive boxing.

One of the qualities that contribute to Gervonta’s praiseworthy timing is his ability to remain patient inside the ring. He does not initially look for the bigger punch, he times it. When ‘Tank’ fought Rolando Romero, he patiently stepped back and allowed Romero himself to run into the arm he’d extended. If Davis can’t cover a certain length himself, he will allow his opponent to reach out to him. At the L.A. Press Conference, Garcia tried to embarrass Davis by reminding him that he could not knock out Issac Cruz who in Ryan’s opinion is “smaller than small”. While Davis could not knock out Cruz, by going the distance, he subsequently proved his stamina and the fact he could fight for 12 rounds if need be.

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“It’s one thing to get to the moment, it’s another to conquer the moment,” declared Ryan Garcia ahead of the fight. In Oscar De La Hoya’s sarcastic opinion, he will need a bat to tackle Davis. Well, going by Garcia’s words, Davis has certainly got to the point. The question is – can he conquer it? Let us know what is your take on Davis vs Gracia in the comments below.

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