GERVONTA DAVIS is a tiny tearaway who is big trouble inside and outside the ring.
He is rapidly turning into a mini-monster who seems hell-bent on taking over Mike Tyson’s role as boxing’s “Baddest Man on the Planet.”
Though 2023 is not yet two weeks old Davis, who is just 5ft 5in tall, is already staking a claim to be a candidate to be named Fighter of the Year – that’s if he isn’t serving a long jail sentence.
Eleven days before he defended his WBA regular world lightweight title last Saturday, Davis was arrested in Florida and, not for the first time, charged with domestic violence spending the night in a prison cell.
A distraught woman, said to be the mother of his daughter, had called police begging for help and screaming: “He’s going to kill me.”
Davis, released on a bail bond and completely unfazed by the experience and the serious disruption to his preparation, battered Hector Garcia so severely he retired on his stool at the end of the eighth round in front of a 19,000 sell-out crowd at Washington DC’s Capital One Arena.
Floyd Mayweather Jr’s protege’s remarkable unbeaten record is now 28-0 with 26 KO’s.
Davis is a ferocious punching pocket-battleship who fires explosive missiles with both hands.
It was obvious he was an exceptional talent to those fortunate to see him destroy Liam Walsh in less than three rounds when he defended his world super-featherweight crown at East London’s Copper Box, six years ago.
Since then, Davis has been arrested on numerous occasions for several offences including aggravated assault.
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He is due to appear at Baltimore Circuit Court, on February 16, where he will face 14 counts relating to a hit-and-run offence.
It is alleged he smashed his Lamborghini SUV into another car putting the four occupants in hospital.
If he should be found guilty on all 14 charges he could be sent to prison for seven years.
Not that Davis believes he will be convicted – he has already agreed to meet the equally brilliant unbeaten Ray Garcia this spring – it is said to be in Las Vegas on April 15.
Davis, 28, started boxing as a five-year-old and is a product of Baltimore’s most crime-ridden ghetto.
He appears to be trying to emulate his mentor Mayweather – who has also had problems with law and order – with an ostentatious lifestyle.
Among Gervonta’s fleet of luxury vehicles – besides the Lamborghini – is a £280,000 Rolls Royce, a Ferrari, a Corvette Stingray, a USSV Rhino GX with inbuilt TV and a Range Rover.
He is tattooed all over his body from the neck down – and he’s most proud of the gorilla face on his chest.
And he never goes out without being adorned with millions of dollars-worth of diamond-encrusted necklaces, rings and designer watches.
Heavyweights Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, Joe Joyce and Daniel Dubois, will once again be the dominate force in the next 12 months.
But for purist fans the lightweight division will grab their attention – it’s loaded with outstanding exciting unbeaten talent.
Davis is a ferocious punching pocket-battleship who fires explosive missiles with both hands
Apart from Davis and Ray Garcia, the undisputed champion is Devin Haney, 29-0, 15 KO’s, and the superb southpaw craftsman Shakur Stevenson, 19-0, 9 KO’s.
If only they can be persuaded to fight each other they would rival the four Kings, Leonard, Hagler, Hearns and Duran who had nine fights between them and captivated millions in the 1980s.
Fury and the rest of the large lumps will get most of the publicity but as a wise man said: “Small men can cut very large shadows.”
