Gervonta Davis is one of boxing’s biggest stars, but many believe he needs more statement wins to really cement his status amongst the elite.
‘Tank’ Davis currently holds the WBA Lightweight World Title. He defended it in June with an emphatic stoppage of Frank Martin, his last fight before that being in April 2023 when he managed to stop Ryan Garcia with a body shot in the 7th round.
There are plenty of fights out there for the knockout artist from Baltimore, not least unifications with fellow champions Shakur Stevenson and Vasiliy Lomachenko.
One man who has been chasing Davis for years is former world champion Gary Russell Jr, as he told The Boxing Source.
“I would love to get back in the game. I hear ‘Tank’ don’t got an opponent yet. What’s up, Tank? They say he don’t got no opponent yet. I’m open to it.”
He believes ‘Tank’ has ‘strayed’ from the match-up in the past.
“It’s never been personal or anything like that. I just think the sport – it’s been too small for both of us to co-exist and not at least come together to see what’d happen. For some weird reason he strayed away from it – him or his team.”
Russell – who would have to move up two weight classes for the bout – has been hugely inactive, fighting just once a year between 2015 and 2020 before spending almost two years away after beating Tugstsogt Nyambayar. He lost his WBC featherweight belt to Mark Magsayo on points in January 2022 upon his return.
Despite his willingness, it’s an unlikely scenario. Davis is slated for a late November or December return in Las Vegas, with many believing the frontrunner to be Jose Valenzueala.
