De La Hoya Calls On Tank Davis To Unify At 135
Oscar De La Hoya has called on Gervonta Davis to face the biggest names at lightweight and unify the division.
Davis is the current WBA ‘regular’ champion who is expected to be elevated to a full champion after Devin Haney vacated his belts to move up to 140. Davis was against becoming a full champion, bringing about mandatory obligations and sanctioning fees. This would counter the narrative that Davis wants to fight the best since a belt would place him in line for a unification.
Shakur Stevenson holds the WBC belt after his win over Edwin De Los Santos, who could become a target. Meanwhile, reports indicate that Vasiliy Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr. could fight for the vacant IBF belt. Fights with Stevenson and Loma would go some way to enhancing Davis’ legacy if he were to come out victorious.
De La Hoya On Davis
“He beat Ryan in a big event, a big PPV blockbuster, and I think Tank has to go after a world champion. I don’t know if he’s a world champion now. So maybe he has to unify. Maybe Tank [should fight in a unification at lightweight]. Yeah, a unification would be great, but obviously fighting the top dogs, the best of the best, and it’s in him. Tank Davis is a beast. He’s an amazing fighter. I have no doubt he’ll want to go in there against the very best,” De La Hoya said
Outside of the big names at 135 pounds, Devin Haney has been mentioned. The Dream became a two-weight world champion after outclassing Regis Prograis to win his WBC junior welterweight title. Following the victory, Haney clarified that Davis did not want the fight since he was doing everything except signing a contract.
At the same time, Bill Haney stressed that they wanted to face Tank Davis. But it appears that Tank’s team has other priorities. In response to Haney’s win, Calvin Ford expressed his belief that Haney would move up to 147 pounds to fight Josh Taylor. That weight discrepancy would rule out the Davis fight. Moving forward, Ford has urged team Haney to focus on themselves rather than mention Davis.
Ford On Davis
“Listen, if I can get $100 every time he mentions my name or Tank’s name, I’ll be a billionaire. Right now, your son [Devin] is at the top of his game. Mention your son’s name. If that’s going to give you the egos to make you think you can win the fight or talk your way into the fight. That fight is going to happen one day. Just keep doing what you’re doing,” Ford stated
Davis must overcome a big name if he wants to become an all-time great. His biggest win is against Ryan Garcia, who was arguably weight-drained with the ten-pound rehydration clause. As Haney continues to rack up big names, that only leaves Davis lingering behind, especially if he wants to be the ‘face of boxing.’
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