They always say that what happens in sparring should stay in sparring, and Tony Bellew strongly agrees.
This unwritten rule is designed to protect both fighters as gym footage can often be clipped up and only show one side of any story.
A fighter could be sparring after a full day’s training, could have already done several rounds or could be on their third or fourth opponent in one session – all reasons why what is shown can be misleading. They may be drilling a particular game-plan, or perfecting one shot.
However, that has not stopped Floyd Mayweather. He has recently shared footage of a private gym session between Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis.
Both men are fighters he has been associated with in the past and both have trained out of his gym where infamous sparring sessions can go on for upwards of 15 rounds. Despite being ‘Tank’s mentor for years, the relationship has recently turned extremely sour.
Haney, who recently lost to Ryan Garcia but retained his WBC Super-Lightweight World Title due to Garcia being over the championship weight, was clearly proud of the sparring work, sharing the clips on his own social media. Davis, who defended his WBA Lightweight World Title against Frank Martin last weekend with yet another emphatic stoppage, has not yet responded.
Former cruiserweight champion Bellew reacted to the sparring footage on X and claimed that it meant nothing criticising the environment of the Mayweather gym.
“Means nothing at all! You can’t read anything from this or any sparring session.. only thing I got from watching this was how not to have a boxing gym! Nothing is clear and it’s just a screaming and shouting match with no proper structure! How many people get in the ring also?”
Many fans agree with Bellew, but it has not stopped the clip being shared and viewed countless times.
Regardless of what happened in sparring, a fight between Haney and Davis has potential for the future, although the latter is keen on dominating at 135 whilst Haney has moved on and is now firmly at 140, even targeting the welterweight limit of 147 in the future.
