Gervonta Davis: 'Boxing world hasn't seen my true potential'
Gervonta Davis’ power is evident, but he says there is more. A lot more.
Davis’ move up the scale, from 130 pounds to 135, against Yuriorkis Gamboa on Dec. 28, he says, puts him on a bigger stage that will allow him to show how much more.
“The boxing world hasn’t seen my true potential as a fighter,’’ Davis told reporters in a recent Q-and-A session in Las Vegas. “They’ve just seen my power. I’m the type of boxer where if you don’t belong in there with me, you won’t be in there too long.
“Some fighters like to take their time. I’m the type, if I know you’re not on my level, I’m going to show it. The world will see. I’ll fight anybody.”
Anybody means the best at a couple of weight classes for the ever-confident Davis (22-0, 21 knockouts), who is already talking about leading pound-for-pound contender Vasiliy Lomachenko and emerging star Ryan Garcia.
First, however, there is Gamboa at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena in the last significant card of 2019. Showtime and Mayweather Promotions have big plans for Davis in the New Year. But that depends on how he closes out this year.
In Gamboa (30-2, 18 KOs), he faces a fighter with a resume that’s hard to ignore. The Cuban has an Olympic gold medal from the 2004 Athens Games. He is a former featherweight and junior lightweight champion. At lightweight, however, the results have been mixed, including a TKO loss in June 2014 to Terence Crawford, now a welterweight and also a leading pound-for-pound contender.
“We know Gamboa is a veteran and that he’s had a lot of wars, so we know we have a tough fight,’’ Davis said. “He’s definitely dangerous. He can hit. He can fight.
“His last fight he made 134 (pounds for a stoppage of Roman Martinez on July 27), so we know he can get bigger than me at that weight. I’m going into this knowing he’s a bigger fighter than me. I’m just going to bring my power and capitalize on that weight class and becoming world champion.
“I believe I’m one of the top fighters in the world, but I don’t compare myself to other fighters. I just go out and get the job done.’’