WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis began training for his title defense in 56 days against Lamont Roach on March 1 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 be someone who will not be easy to knockout. He will likely need to go into the later rounds against Roach, 29, before he can score a stoppage.
Weight is not a problem
Gervonta already looks in good shape, with his low weight, and almost at fighting weight. When you compare his appearance to that of fighters like Keyshawn Davis, it’s like night and day.
Keyshawn looks like a great welterweight during his camps, but somehow he cuts 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 to the question of whether he had parted ways.
“I can understand where you’re coming from. Things are different when you have kids. It changes your life. It completely changes your life,” said Leonard Ellerbe to The Laboratory with Plaztalking 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 all heard it. No, not at all. It’s never good enough what you do, and sometimes it can be frustrating.
“There’s more to life than something you do for a living. You have respect for the fans who pay their money to see you fight, but you have a life outside of boxing. They want you to keep doing that, and they really don’t care your health later.
Tank Davis can see many fighters breathing their next, such as Andy Cruz, Edwin De Los Santos and Keyshawn Davis. He might not feel confident that he can beat all or any of them. If he thinks he can win, he knows it will be a tough battle for him, and he may not want to put in the effort.
“Boxing is a brutal sport. You see a lot of fighters from before; they were exploited in many different ways. They went through a lot of health problems, a lot of permanent things. I understand the philosophy that you come into the sport and make your mark, and then 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 not to see someone offer a massive amount of money for a big fight, and he agrees to take it.
