Stephen A. Smith is upset by Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis who chooses to defend his WBA lightweight title against super featherweight Lamont Roach in their next fight on March 1 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Commentator Stephen A believes that Tank Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) should fight guys at 135 or 140 rather than picking a smaller and weaker fighter like Roach (25-1-1, 10 KOs).
Investment protection
Fans have the same argument, but that does not stop Tank from making this move. There are enough people willing to buy his events on PPV for him to continue doing these types of matches.
The former Tank Davis, promoted by Mayweather, was brought in a low performance mode to take battles of course, look good against the overcome opposition, and eventually earn good money, but not always huge masses. For its management, it has been like an oil well, guarded pumping oil slowly so as not to be dry.
“I think Roach is too small, and that’s my problem. I’m not questioning his skill set or anything like that,” said Stephen A. Smith to Sean ZittelThey talk about their view on Gervonta Davis defending his WBA lightweight title against 130-pounder Lamont Roach on March 1st.
“It was similar to Frank Martin. This guy comes here, and you have 18 fights. I remember watching his pre-fight press conference, and he was so annoying Gervonta Davis. I knew that Gervonta was going to come for him, and of course , that’s what he did. He advanced towards him from the first tour.
“I remember what he said, and it really hit me. Gervonta’s a smart guy, bro. He said, ‘You really, really should have waited. You don’t have enough experience. You should really wait and take your time before you come to me,’ and that’s what Gervonta Davis told him. He was right. He was absolutely right,” said Stephen A.
Smith has to understand that Frank Martin is 29 years old, he fought against Artem Harutyunyan in his previous fight before fighting Tank, and he could not afford to turn down a mega-payday against him. If Martin has huge problems against someone like Artem, he is not going to wait three to five years to gain enough experience to fight Gervonta. By that time, the Baltimore native would be long retired, and Martin has fought many times because he is not that good.
“So now we’re here, fighting this guy Roach, and I’m like, ‘Isn’t this guy a junior lightweight (correction: super featherweight) moving up to lightweight? No, there is no (opportunity for him). This bothers me, and the reason why it bothers me is that Gervonta is too big and too skilled to be fighting smaller dudes than him.
“Gervonta can knock out welterweights. He can probably knock out a couple of middleweights, okay? Why fight someone smaller? The only time I approve of big champions fighting smaller guys is when you’re not known for your power,” Smith said.
Tank can’t knock out middleweights unless they’re bottom fighters, and he won’t stop any of the quality welterweights.
If Stephen is talking about a paper champion at 147 years old, like Mario Barrios. Yeah, Tank has already shown he can stop that guy, but he hasn’t beaten anyone since moving up to 147, other than a badly bruised and rusty Yordenis Ugas.
“You basically use your superior skills and show against a smaller, faster guy that skills don’t dissipate. But if you’re a bigger guy and you’re clearly the power guy, that just leaves somebody in a distinct disadvantage, and I think it is unfair.
“So, that’s how I see it, and that’s what worries me about Gervonta fighting this guy. There’s Teofimo Lopez at 140. Fight that brother. Fight someone your size or bigger,” he said Smith.
The business of boxing
This is an example of Smith reveals that he is only one casual fan with basic knowledge of the sport. His forte is obviously basketball and football rather than boxing.
It seems clear that Stephen A. does not recognize how Tank Davis’ career has been orchestrated by his promoters and management. It’s not that he couldn’t fight the biggest of his size or bigger, but rather, there was too much risk. It was easier to take low-risk fights.
The elder Gervonta, promoted by Mayweather, has carefully modified since the beginning of his career, and nothing has changed. He’s never had a 50-50 fight, and he certainly isn’t about to start now that he’s supposed to be at the end with only three fights left before retirement.
