Gervonta Davis’ future still looks uncertain. Amid talks of a comeback, the Baltimorean has now been relegated to the status of a “champion in recess” in the lightweight division after the WBA ordered a mandatory title defense against Floyd Schofield fell apart. While recent reports indicated his team reaching out to welterweight champion Devin Haney, Gervonta Davis himself surprised everyone by calling out former mentor and promoter Floyd Mayweather.

This confusion and uncertainty surrounding his career, which has been marred by issues both inside and outside the ring, including legal problems, seems to have taken a toll on Davis to the extent that he does not sound too keen about his children lacing up professionally ever.

“I would give him a tight hug and then tell him, ‘No,'” his comment, shared by Source of Boxing on social media, read.

While the “champion in recess” has stayed cryptic, as he usually does, and it’s not entirely clear under which post he relayed the comment, a closer review reveals the likely reasons behind the stance. Beyond his personal issues, Tank, a three-division champion who has been active since 2013, has had ample time to experience the complications and deeply entrenched politics of boxing firsthand.

While his own actions, such as the way last year’s fight against Lamont Roach Jr. ended, have cast a cloud of doubt over his conduct, the overall experience, including claims that fighters have frequently avoided him, seems to have left Davis disillusioned to the extent that he even contemplated retirement, saying that “boxing is dead.”

He likely does not want his children to go through a similar experience, where the rewards, especially the monetary ones, are genuinely life-changing, but the mental pressure and demands the sport places on one’s discipline could prove too much for the kids’ inexperienced minds. The best way to deal with the situation, according to Davis, would be not to let them enter the ring at all.

While Gervonta Davis’ stance may surprise a few diehards, it’s far from an isolated one.

It takes years to reach the top level in boxing. Even if a prospect grinds his way through several fights, there’s no guarantee he will be able to reach a level where the sport not only provides him with a steady source of income but also a status that is commensurate with his experience.

The fragmented nature of the sport creates multiple layers and filters through which a young prospect needs to pass. Many never make it beyond that stage.

Gervonta Davis isn’t alone: Why boxing greats don’t want their kids in the ring

That difficult journey explains why there are only a few exceptions where children of boxing greats took up boxing. The most notable example is Laila Ali, Muhammad Ali’s daughter, who went on to become a world champion. In recent years, there have been cases such as Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn, who followed in their fathers’ footsteps by lacing up professionally.

Yet, they are just outliers. None of the children of boxing greats, including Sugar Ray Robinson, Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Leonard, or Roberto Duran, ever took up boxing.

Speaking about his son taking up professional boxing, Tyson once said, “No, that’s why I take the punches and get beat up and knocked out so he doesn’t have to. I don’t want him to ever do that. It’s humiliating sometimes. The man who is to be a fighter has to be hungry and to have nothing. He’ll never know what it’s like to be without. He has a different situation.

“A man who’s not hungry and has plenty will die in there because the people that are in there have nothing, and their job is to die in it because they have nothing, so it doesn’t matter what happens to them. They have nothing to lose. How could a man that has so much to lose win against a man that has nothing to lose?”

Tyson would rather see his children take care of their lives, “chill out,” and enjoy his wealth instead of taking punches, for which they may have a lower tolerance than their father ever had.

Gervonta Davis appears to be looking at the sport through a similar lens. Despite being termed a “face of boxing,” uncertainty continues to surround his future.

While many put the blame on him for landing in the quandary where he finds himself today, one cannot deny that the business side of boxing has also played a part. Reports suggest Davis had to part ways with his longtime trainer, Calvin Ford, and allegedly work with David Benavidez’s father and trainer, Jose Benavidez Sr., partly to keep himself away from distractions and also because of supposed promotional alignments.

Davis’ three kids are still young. It may be some time before they come to an understanding about the vocation they would want to adopt in life. It’s also possible that, by then, boxing will have changed for the better. While many of the sport’s deep-rooted challenges may not go away, it could still emerge in a better place, where enthusiastic prospects receive good opportunities to rise. By then, it’s possible Tank may change his mind as well.