Gervonta Davis focused on victories, not knockouts
Gervonta Davis was in the eighth grade when a street fight changed the way he approaching boxing.
Davis, prone to schoolyard tussles in his Baltimore neighborhood, landed a punch that did a funny thing to his unfortunate adversary: The kid didn’t get up. A light bulb went off in his head and one of the most dangerous punchers of this generation was born.
“It was a fight at the school,” Davis told Boxing Junkie on Wednesday. “I hit somebody. They fell. That’s when I went crazy, when I started to knock people out in the gym. That was the time.”
The power is reflected in Davis’ professional record: 23 fights, 22 knockouts. The latter number could go to 23 on Saturday, when “Tank” faces Leo Santa Cruz in the first pay-per-view main event for both fighters from the Alamodome in San Antonio.
Davis was asked where the power comes from and initially responded that he has no idea. Then, after thinking about it for a moment, he gave a different answer.
“I take it back,” he said. “It’s accuracy.” You mean the power comes from hitting the bull’s-eye? “Exactly,” he said.
Many people fear for Santa Cruz if Davis is able to hit the bull’s-eye on Saturday. Santa Cruz, whose junior lightweight title will be on the line, is a four-division titleholder who has won consistently with volume punching and toughness.
However, he’s perceived to be a small 130-pounder while Davis is thought to be a big one. Factor in Tank’s punching power and it seems Santa Cruz might be in trouble.
Not everyone is thinking that way, though. Davis was asked whether he’d be surprised if his opponent can take his power. He has a wait-and-see attitude.
“Once you get the top level, it’s very hard to knock people out,” said Davis, who arguably faces his biggest challenge. “For him to be a four-time world champion … you gotta have a chin to be able to accomplish these goals.
“I don’t think he’s been hurt in his career.”
And the notion that Santa Cruz is too small for him?
“I don’t think so,” he said. “I know he came up from 126 but I also went up to 135 . No one was saying anything about me being smaller than Gamboa.”
Indeed, Davis isn’t focused on his punching power or any size advantage he might have. He has said repeatedly that his goal is to win – any way he can – and look good doing it to establish him as a pay-per-view attraction.
In fact, he wouldn’t mind if people focused a little more on other attributes he brings to the ring.
“I definitely want to show that I have skills on top of the power,” he said. “You got a glance of that with Pedraza and Cuellar. Saturday night I want to give another great performance.
“I want to show more skills than power, to give people a new idea of Gervonta Davis.”