MINI-MAYWEATHER
Mayweather protégé Davis travels to the UK to fight an invigorated Walsh, writes George Gigney
Gervonta Davis travels to the UK to face fellow unbeaten Liam Walsh
FLOYD MAYWEATHER never fought in the UK as a professional – something he insists he regrets to this day, though his absurd Las Vegas purses probably made it easier to deal with – but his latest pupil will be doing so early on his career.
Gervonta Davis, born and raised on the ruthless streets of Baltimore, makes the first defence of his IBF superfeatherweight title against mandatory challenger Liam Walsh on Saturday (May 20) at the Copper Box Arena in London.
Davis was an unknown quantity up until January. We knew “Money” Mayweather was backing him, but Floyd had put stock in underwhelming prospects before and Davis simply hadn’t boxed at a high enough level yet. He went into his fight with then-champion Jose Pedraza a slight underdog – not that you would have known it during fight week. He carried himself with confidence, seemingly content in the knowledge that he was about to announce himself to the boxing world – which he did, rather emphatically.
His defence seems to have been honed in the Floyd Mayweather School of Evasion but his two-fisted assaults are from a curriculum only a young Floyd studied. In short, he battered Pedraza, beating him to the punch despite his disadvantages in height and reach before eventually stopping him in the seventh.
“Is he the future of boxing? Absof**king-lutely,” Mayweather said in the ring afterward. While Walsh wouldn’t go that far, he was impressed with Davis’ win.
“He showed great maturity for a 22-year-old, even just his body language, he swaggered into the ring. He was in there with a world class fighter and he didn’t look out of place whatsoever, it was a really good win,” he told Boxing News.
“You could say Pedraza boxed with a style that makes Davis look good but that could be down to him as well, he dragged him into that. I can’t say anything bad about the performance, he did a brilliant job and nobody thought he’d walk through Pedraza like that.”
Walsh had already made himself mandatory challenger for the IBF title last year when he shut out Andrey Klimov over 12 rounds. In fact, he was ahead of Davis in the line when the American was granted a shot at Pedraza. Walsh admits that he picked Jose over Davis and
initially hoped the Puerto Rican would win, so that he had a chance to take on an established champion.
Things ended up panning out for the better, given Davis’ rising profile and his attachment to Mayweather.
“If Pedraza won, I think he would have vacated and I’d never get any props for winning a vacant title and I know I wouldn’t be a true world champion,” Walsh continued.
“So now I’ve got the best opportunity, he’s the number one American in the division, he’s up there to claim he’s one of the best at the weight, although I think [Vasyl] Lomachenko is in a league of his own.
“If I beat Gervonta Davis, I know I’m a world champion. Nobody could take that away from me.”
Getting Davis – and Mayweather, his promoter – over to the UK is quite a coup for Walsh’s promoter Frank Warren, who acknowledges that his broadcast deal with BT Sport allows him to make fights like this. Boxnation also air in the UK, while Showtime do so in America. A stellar amateur with over 200 bouts and a National Golden Gloves title to his name, Davis has been kept active since his 2013 pro debut but, as mentioned, against mediocre opposition before taking on Pedraza. Walsh, however, has had things a little rougher. After picking up the Commonwealth title in his 10th fight, he then earned a WBO ranking and was set to fight thenlightweight champion Ricky Burns, only for a car accident to scupper that chance. He made a swift recovery from his injuries and set about proving himself a cut above his domestic rivals, earning wins over Kevin Hooper, Joe Murray (twice) and Troy James. The Cromer switch-hitter fights at a rapid pace, but can also stay patient and dissect an opponent from range, as he did against Klimov. His work to the body is vicious and should be a cause for concern for Davis, who has never fought beyond the ninth round.
Southpaw “Tank” has only heard the final bell once in 17 paid outings, mainly down to his impressive power and punishing timing. His footwork is not exemplary, mainly because he likes to keep a wide stance in order to maximise his power, using upper body movement to avoid punches. He does so well, and responds with venomous left hand counters. His lead right hook and left uppercut are his two most dangerous weapons, though he can be outworked at times and pushed backward.
Some have written Walsh off – which is both naïve and unfair, given his body of work and obvious talent. That being said, Davis looked special against Pedraza. It won’t be an easy night’s work and Davis may struggle with Walsh’s size and strength, but the pick is for the visitor to retain his title on the cards.
THE VERDICT Davis and Mayweather are confident, but the former will be made to work for his title.