WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis has begun training for his title defense in 56 days against Lamont Roach on March 1st at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Tank (30-0, 28 KOs) is working hard on his conditioning, knowing that Roach (25-1-1, 10 KOs) will not be easy to knock out. He will most likely have to go against Roach, 29, in the later rounds before he can score a stoppage.
Weight not a problem
Gervonta already looks in good shape, with his weight down, and almost at fighting weight. When you contrast his looks with those of fighters like Keyshawn Davis, it’s like night and day.
Keyshawn looks like a big welterweight during his camps but somehow cut down to 135. Tank is a natural lightweight and is not a weight bully trying to game the system. Tank’s longtime trainer Calvin Ford was nowhere to be seen, leading some to wonder if he had parted ways.
“I can understand where he is coming from. Things are different when you have children. It changed your life. It changes your life completely,” Leonard Ellerbe continued The Laboratory with Plaztalks about Gervonta Davis’ decision to retire after three more fights.
“He looks at things differently than six or seven years ago. If that’s what he said (he’s retiring) and we’ve all heard him. No, not at all. What you do is never good enough, and sometimes it can be frustrating.
“There is more to life than something you do for a living. You have respect for fans who pay their money to see you fight, but you have a life outside of boxing. They want you to keep doing it, and they really don’t care about your health afterwards.
Tank Davis can see many fighters take his next breath, such as Andy Cruz, Edwin De Los Santos and Keyshawn Davis. He may not feel confident that he can beat all or any of them. If he does think he can win, he knows it will be hard fights for him, and he may not want to put in the effort.
“Boxing is a cruel sport. You see a lot of fighters from before; they have been utilized in many different ways. They went through a lot of health issues, a lot of permanent stuff. I understand the philosophy that you come into the sport and make your mark, and then you leave it at that. Everyone’s opinion is different, and everyone has different goals in life,” Ellerbe said.
It will be interesting to see if Tank’s retirement is permanent or if he will return after six to twelve months when he gets bored or is offered a lot of money for a particular fight. Gervonta is so popular that it’s hard to see him not being offered a massive amount of money by someone for a big fight, and he agrees to take it.
