On Saturday night, Gervonta “Tank” Davis delivered a message with a devastating left hook, but it wasn’t simply a message for Ryan Garcia. No, it was a message directed toward the entire sport of boxing.
One that said that Tank is the superstar and face you don’t want but you’ll have to deal with because he’s here.
Yet for those of us who have watched Tank, we already knew this.
We knew it back in 2017 when he finished off Jose Pedraza in the 7th round and claimed the IBF World Super Feather Title at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
A year later, Tank was back in Brooklyn and his stardom was on display for all to experience before he even entered the ring. I was there to witness the screams and cheers for the young fighter as he walked up the steps and onto the ring apron. Baltimore was heavy in the building that night, but those screams weren’t emitted solely by fans from Charm City. No, they were from almost all in attendance.
At that moment, I knew Tank was a star and the future face of the sport.
And this was before he completely obliterated Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar to win the WBA Super Featherweight title. A fight where Tank, unfortunately for poor Cuellar, unleashed the frustration of having his IBF title belt stripped eight months prior after failing to make weight in his fight against Francisco Fonseca.
If that wasn’t proof enough, sending Leo Santa Cruz into hibernation with a vicious uppercut should have convinced anyone still skeptical of Tank’s standing.
Yet the doubt remained.
Even after knocking out three of his next four opponents (he won a Unanimous Decision over Isaac Cruz in December 2021), including another Brooklyn victory over Rolando Romero, the doubt lingered.
Saturday night’s decisive destruction of Ryan Garcia should have eliminated all doubt.
Unfortunately, Tank’s 7th round KO of Garcia did nothing to deter the refusal of some to anoint Davis as the face of the sport.
That’s absolutely ridiculous.
Tank (29-0, 27 KOs), under the intermittent tutelage of Floyd Mayweather, has carved a swath through a field of opponents, littering it with fallen bodies.
And he’s done it by learning to box.
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