Mayweather might let Gervonta Davis fight Vasyl Lomachenko

Boxingnews24.com

By Allan Fox

Promoter Floyd Mayweather Jr. has reportedly had talks with Top Rank boss Bob Arum about a fight between former super featherweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis (19-0, 18 KOs) and Vasyl Lomachenko.

Davis, 23, is rumored to have sent out a Tweet recently expressing dissatisfaction with how his career has been handled by Mayweather. Davis is said to have deleted the Tweet a short while later. Mayweather’s talk with Arum could be a way for him to appease his young star Davis by matching him against the fighter considered the best talent in the super featherweight division in Lomachenko (10-1, 8 KOs), who has now moved up to lightweight and will be taking on WBA 135 lb. champion Jorge Linares (44-3, 27 KOs) on May 12 on ESPN at Madison Square Garden in New York. I

f Mayweather is serious about letting Davis take on Lomachenko, he can at least let him see where he stands in comparison to the fighter that is seen as one of the best in boxing. The worst thing that can happen is Davis getting knocked out or made to quit like Lomachenko’s last four opponents. But even in closing, Davis can learn from the fight, and improve as a fighter.

“Loma has a hard fight with Jorge Linares on May 12,” Arum said to RingTV.com. “If all goes well for both guys it would make a good event later this year. Floyd did talk with Todd a few days ago about this.”

If Mayweather was just name dropping Lomachenko’s name to increase the popularity of Davis, it would sad, because he needs to be able to take fights like this to make a name for himself.
It’s good news that Arum is interested in matching Lomachenko against Tank Davis is the two fighters win their next fights. Davis is facing former WBA World featherweight champion Jesus Andres Cuellar (28-2, 21 KOs) on April 21 on the undercard of the Adrien Broner vs. Jessie Vargas card on Showtime Boxing at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Also, on the card is former IBF junior middleweight champion Jermall Charlo facing Hugo Centeno Jr. for the interim WBC middleweight title. Davis should beat Cuellar, who hasn’t fought in 1 ½ years, and is coming off of a loss to Abner Mares in December 2016. Everything is stacked in Davis’ favor for him to win the fight. Cuellar is nothing compared to what Davis will have to go through if he does face the 30-year-old Lomachenko later this year. If Davis fights the 2-time Olympic gold medalist Lomachenko, he’s likely going to lose and wind up looking bad.

Davis is a good fighter, but he doesn’t look like he’s improved any in the last couple of years. He’s not showing the kind of ability needed for him to beat Lomachenko or WBC super featherweight champion Miguel Berchelt. Those guys are too good for Davis. He might be able to beat WBA 130 lb. champion Alberto Machado or IBF champion Kenichi Ogawa. It’s not a given that Davis beats those guys. Who knows how long Davis can continue to make weight for the super featherweight division.

If Davis must move up to lightweight, it’s going to be hard for him to dominate like he’s been doing against the opposition Mayweather has matched him up against during his career. Right now, Davis is doing well because he’s been matched carefully against the likes of limited fighters like Liam Walsh, Jose Pedraza, Francisco Fonseca, Mario Antonio Macias and Guillermo Avila. It would be a different story if Davis faces Lomachenko, Jorge Linares, Mikey Garcia, and Robert Easter Jr.

Those guys can all fight, and they have the kind of talent that he has no experience against due to the match-making that’s been done on his behalf by Mayweather. If he shows Davis how ugly it can be if he must face the best suddenly, it could be bad for him and his career if Mayweather doesn’t quickly bring him back to the soft match-making that he’s been doing for him. I hate to say it but there’s a lot of Adrien Broner in Davis. I think we’ll see that if Mayweather chooses to throw Davis in the deep end of the pool against Lomachenko.

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