Sean Michael Ham
Gervonta Davis sitting outside of the pound-for-pound top ten is a travesty to the sport, according to legend and ‘Tank’ mentor Floyd Mayweather.
Three-weight titleholder Davis is currently at number twelve on the WBN P4P Top 50 and has only fleetingly flirted with the number ten spot previously.
Winning a bonafide championship at super-featherweight, Davis only won secondary straps at 135 and 140 pounds. This issue takes center stage in the debate of where Davis currently stands.
Pauli Malignaggi brought this up recently in his podcast show. The ex-world champion pointed out the WBA’ regular’ version Davis has claimed in two divisions.
“Showtime calling Gervonta Davis a three-division world champion even though he has never won a world title at 135 pounds,” said Malignaggi.
“He has never won the world title at 140 pounds. He has been a champion at 130 pounds.
“This does not take away from the fact that he is a very good fighter. But he is not and never has been a world champion in multiple weight classes.”
Mayweather and right-hand man Leonard Ellerbe believe Davis is the most significant Pay Per View star since his promoter ruled the world.
However, criticism of Davis on social media hit the forefront when no buys got announced officially for the Isaac Cruz event.
All that wrapped up into one is a recipe for Davis to continue his rise. He’s already one of the most talked-about fighters on the planet, of that there is no doubt.
Davis needs a fellow-P4P dance partner to enhance his standing after career-best wins over Jose Pedraza, Yuriorkis Gamboa, and Leo Santa Cruz.
The latter was the one to push Davis into the top ten. However, the stay was only brief as other fighters soon overhauled him.
GERVONTA DAVIS TOP TEN
Mayweather still sees some bias going against Davis, though. Therefore, ‘Money’ would like to have the 27-year-old bumped up the ratings.
“I’m not coming back to the sport of boxing,” Mayweather stated to FightHub TV. “The sport of boxing was good to me.
“I was able to make a lot of smart investments outside. That’s going to help the up and comers.
“Like I was talking about Gervonta Davis. I don’t understand why he’s not in the top ten pound-for-pound. And Terence Crawford, Errol Spence Jr., and Benavidez, the list goes on.
“There are so many tough fighters out there. I’m proud of great young champions out there [right now].
The views expressed in this article are opinions of Phil Jay.
Phil Jay – Editor of World Boxing News since 2010 with over one billion views. Furthermore, follow WBN on Twitter @WorldBoxingNews.