Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis 24-0 (23) has admitted his next assignment is his toughest on paper but is adamant there is no pressure on him to perform.
The 26-year-old Baltimore, Maryland native will move up two weight classes to challenge WBA ‘regular’ junior welterweight titleholder Mario ‘El Azteca’ Barrios 26-0 (17) at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday night.
“I’m excited to be in this position to be able to give the fans what they want to see, which is an exciting fight. Atlanta showed me love the last time I came, so why not come back?” said southpaw Davis, who was last in action at 130-pounds when he knocked out Leo Santa Cruz with a single uppercut in the sixth-round of their WBA super featherweight contest last Halloween.
“This is one of my toughest fights on paper. I’ll be ready, and hopefully, he’ll be ready, and we’ll give the fans what they want to see.
“Las Vegas is definitely a boxing town. My team is there at Mayweather Promotions, and I brought my personal team out there as well. We’re all a family. We train together, get along, and help each other.
“There is no pressure on me, and I am just going out there to do my job. It’s just another day at the job for me. Hopefully, he’s ready because I’m definitely ready, and we can give the fans what they want to see, which is a knockout.
“[Barrios] is a young champion. I’m going up two weight classes to face him. If they don’t give me the respect after this, I don’t know what I have to do. It’s pretty cool. This is actually the first time I’m fighting at this weight class. Whatever opportunities they give me at 135, or 140, I’ll take them.”
Barrios, 26, from San Antonio, Texas, turned back the challenge from quality amateur Batyr Akhmedov 8-1 (7) to claim the secondary black belt back by unanimous decision back in September 2019. He knocked out the tough Ryan ‘Cowboy’ Karl 18-3 (12) in his first title defence in October last year.
Barrios will enjoy a sizeable height and reach advantage over Davis.
“This is all brand new, but I’m taking it all in and excited to be in Atlanta. I’m just excited to go out there on Saturday and give everybody a great fight,” Barrios said.
“No doubt about it, Tank is by far the toughest test for another title defence, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to be successful on Saturday. There’s going to be fireworks on Saturday.
“This is a huge opportunity, and I’m very excited for this chance. This is a very winnable fight for me, regardless of what everyone has been saying. I’m just excited to be back in the ring and in Atlanta.
“I think it’s not going to be until we both get in the ring that people realize how much size I really have for 140 pounds. Somehow, he’s still the favourite, although he’s the challenger in this fight. I just take that as more motivation for me.
“Height-wise, reach. Those are the major advantages. I’m just as dangerous as he is. And just as explosive and just as fast. And I will show that on fight night.
“When they came to me, I said let’s do it, but I was like, ‘I’m not going down to 135,’ and they said, ‘Nah, he’s going to come up.’ And I said, ‘Even better.’
“I’ve seen him fight plenty of times. He’s a great fighter, and he’s been very successful at the lower weight divisions against the smaller opponents. But this is a different fight for him.
“I didn’t take too much from the Leo Santa Cruz fight. I felt [Gervonta] fought him the way he did because he didn’t respect Santa Cruz’s power. But with our fight, he’s going to have no choice, and he’s not going to fight me the way he fought Santa Cruz. Whatever he does fight night, I’m going to have to adapt.
“I’ve been boxing just as long as he has, and I have an excellent boxing IQ, just as he has. It only takes one punch to change a fight, and he definitely has that one punch. But I’ll find out if that power carries over to 140 pounds.”
