Tank Davis' Next Fight Made Clearer

The WBA has formally ordered their champ in recess Gervonta Davis to make a mandatory lightweight title defence against number one contender Floyd Schofield, opening a 30-day negotiation window that expires on June 22.

Davis' last appearance came on March 1, 2025, when he retained the WBA lightweight title via majority draw against Lamont Roach — a result widely viewed as a performance that should have gone against him. Under WBA Championship Rule C.10, lightweight champions are required to defend their titles every nine months. By any calculation, that window has long since passed.

WBA Rule C.13 restricts him from fighting any opponent other than Schofield within 60 days of the mandatory defence period's expiration — a provision that effectively blocks the Isaac Cruz rematch that had previously been discussed as Davis's preferred return fight, at least within that window. Should the two camps fail to reach agreement before June 22, the WBA may proceed to a purse bid, removing both sides' ability to negotiate terms freely.

The order complicates a return picture that was already unclear. Davis had been linked with Cruz as his leading comeback opponent before that fight fell through, and names including Vasiliy Lomachenko and Shakur Stevenson have since been mentioned as longer-term targets. The WBA's intervention narrows his options considerably and places Schofield — an unbeaten 19-0 contender with 13 knockouts — at the front of the queue regardless of commercial preference.

Schofield has been in this position before. Oscar De La Hoya publicly pushed for a Davis-Schofield fight when the mandatory obligation first arose, only to be passed over when Davis's team indicated a preference for other opponents. The WBA order gives the contender a formal mechanism that preference alone cannot override.