By: Sean Crose
Fighting styles may not be the same, but it’s hard to argue that the names Floyd Mayweather and Gervonta “The Tank” Davis represent outstanding talents. Mayweather has dominated boxing for more than a decade, his polished, nearly impenetrable defense putting him on par with defensive masters like Pernell Whitaker and Willie Pep. Davis, on the other hand, uses his lightning speed to create a pulverized effect – just ask Leo Sana Cruz. However, the two men have one thing in common other than talent – a successful partnership. Although Davis hasn’t reached the star level that Mayweather did, he’s without a doubt one of the most followed boxers on the planet.
Now, however, it appears that the possible Mayweather-Davis partnership (“maybe” is the word partnership here) is coming to an end. However, when the fight was over, the contract Davis had with Mayweather’s advertising agency (Mayweather as Chairman, Leonard Ellerbe as CEO) was over. And Davis is making suggestions that not all is well between him and his promoter. “My contract is up that’s why they want me to fight this bad clown,” the Baltimore native tweeted Thursday. It’s hard to imagine who the man might be alluding to, if not Mayweather Promotions and Ramirez, who, like him, fight under the Mayweather banner.
To be sure, Davis shared his criticism for allegedly not fighting to his level. Santa Cruz is undoubtedly man’s greatest fight, even though Santa Cruz is seven years more famous than Davis. Add in the fact that Davis’ final fight, against Isaac Cruz in December, is much closer than one would think and conceivable that criticism could be starting to take its toll. After all, no one wants to be accused of being carefully managed by his or her abettors. However, that is precisely the accusation that is essentially campaigned in Davis’ way.
“I want to fight Gervonta Davis,” lightweight celebratory George Kamabosos said this week, “But he won’t fight in Australia (the home of the Kambosos) … maybe after I kicked him in the butt in his hometown.” Kambosos then went on to trash Davis’ May 28 game against Romero at Brooklyn’s Barclay Center. “It wasn’t a big fight at all,” Kambosos quipped. “That guy, I’m not even sure who he is… Tanks will destroy him and you’ll never hear of this kid again.” In other words, Davis is being assigned an easy touch while the Kambosos himself is likely to face fellow countryman Devin Haney.
Such criticism may or may not be fair, but it does seem to sting Davis… along with that, no doubt, along with a few other things that only behind-the-scenes players have. knowable.
