Gervonta Davis headlines his first pay-per-view in a Halloween fight with Leo Santa Cruz. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is guiding Davis the entire way.
Gervonta Davis is ready for the big time as he prepares to fight Leo Santa Cruz on Showtime Pay-per-view on Halloween, but his secret weapon is Floyd Mayweather Jr. as his guiding light.
Davis (23-0, 22 KOs) is a three-time world champion at the young age of 25 years old, but he has a habit of making mistakes. Some are more serious than others.
Davis’s weight has been a hot topic going into his contest with Santa Cruz. In 2017, Davis was stripped of his IBF super featherweight title before his matchup with Francisco Fonseca. He also missed weight on his first attempt against Yuriorkis Gamboa in his last bout despite moving up a division. He did make the cut on his second trip to the scale.
Davis has a ton of ability, as evidenced by his perfect record and 95 percent knockout rating, but has sabotaged himself with his weight issues and conduct outside the ring. He was arrested in February of this year for misdemeanor battery.
Last month while talking to Brian Custer on the Last Stand Podcast, Davis commented on his arrest, saying he was wrong for getting physical with his ex-girlfriend but stated that he did not hit her.
During a media conference for his upcoming fight with Santa Cruz, Davis talked about the impact Mayweather has had on him in and out of the ring. Davis is promoted by Mayweather under his Mayweather Promotions banner but looks to him as a mentor.
“I’m close to my Mayweather team, and I have Floyd in the gym with me more,” said Davis. “I’m grateful for having Floyd here to help me tweak things that will help me fight better against Leo [Santa Cruz.]”
Mayweather has been working more with Davis in the ring and sharing his wisdom.
Since this is Davis’s first time leading a pay-per-view event, there’s more pressure on his shoulders to have a good showing in terms of buys. Davis is leaning on Mayweather for support in that endeavor.
“Floyd’s been there coaching me through what comes with having my first pay-per-view main event fight,” said Davis. “There’s a lot of pressure on me, and you have to live up to fighting on pay-per-view so you can fight on pay-per-view again. When I’m down or anything like that, he’s able to push me, because he’s been there before. There are things that only Floyd can tell me about because he has that experience.”
Davis also said of Mayweather, “I’m appreciative having the best in my corner. God blessed me with that.”
Respect and emotion are shared between Davis and Mayweather. Mayweather was also on the media call and praised Davis for his abilities.
“I believe in ‘Tank,’” said Mayweather. “I’ve believed in him ever since he was a young kid. He’s still a kid in my eyes, but he’s a young man now. I told him it was going to come fast, and when it comes, to be ready.”
Mayweather added, “You haven’t seen the best Gervonta Davis yet. He had so many different looks in training. He had big guys, small guys, combination punchers, pressure fighters. He was boxing everything from middleweights to featherweights. All of this is going to play a big part in his career.”
Davis will need to be at his best when he fights Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz (37-1-1, 19 KOs) is a four-division champion. He avenged his lone defeat in 2017 by majority decision over Carl Frampton.
Mayweather closed the press conference with some final words of advice for his protege Davis.
“Tank, you already know, I’m going to always stay on top of you to be the best that you can be. Show the people that you got boxing skills, not just power.”
If Davis can employ Mayweather’s words against Santa Cruz, then he will be knocking on the door of the pound-for-pound rankings.
Gervonta Davis and Leo Santa Cruz meet on Saturday, Oct. 31, on Showtime pay-per-view. Coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET.