Protecting the investment: the strategy behind Gervonta Davis’ career

Stephen A. Smith is upset that Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis has chosen to defend his WBA lightweight title against super featherweight Lamont Roach in their next fight on March 1 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Commentator Stephen A believes Tank Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) should fight guys 135 or 140 instead of choosing a smaller, weaker fighter like Roach (25-1-1, 10 KOs).

Protect the investment

Fans have the same argument, but that doesn’t stop Tank from making this move. There are enough people willing to buy his events on PPV for him to continue making these types of mismatches.

Former Tank Davis, promoted by Mayweather, has been brought in in a low performance way take safe fights, look great against outmatched opponents, and ultimately earn a lot of money, but not a consistently huge dough. For its management it has been like an oil well, maintained pumping oil slowly so as not to dry out.

“I think Roach is too small and that’s my problem. “I’m not questioning his abilities or anything like that,” Stephen A. Smith told Sean Zittelspeaking about his opinion on Gervonta Davis defending his WBA lightweight title against 130-pound Lamont Roach on March 1.

“He was similar to Frank Martin. This guy comes in and you have 18 fights. I remember watching his pre-fight press conference and he was really bothering Gervonta Davis. He knew Gervonta would come looking for him, and sure enough, that’s what he did. He walked straight towards him from the first round.

“I remember what he said and it really hit me. Gervonta is a smart guy, brother. He said, ‘You really should have waited.’ You don’t have enough experience. You really should have waited and taken your time before coming to see me,’ and that’s what Gervonta Davis told him. He was right. He was absolutely right,” said Stephen A.

Smith needs to understand that Frank Martin is 29 years old, fought Artem Harutyunyan in his previous fight before fighting Tank, and couldn’t afford to turn down a mega payday against him. If Martin is having big problems against an Artem like him, he is not willing to wait three to five years to gain enough experience to fight Gervonta. By then, the Baltimore native would be long retired, and Martin beat him many times because he’s not that good.

“So now here we are, fighting Roach, and I’m thinking, ‘Isn’t this guy a junior lightweight (correction: super featherweight) moving up to lightweight?’ No, there is not (possibility for him). That bothers me, and the reason it bothers me is because Gervonta is too big and too skilled to fight guys smaller than him.

“Gervonta can knock out welterweights. I can probably knock out a couple of middleweights, okay? Why are you fighting with someone smaller? The only time I approve of big champions fighting smaller guys is when you’re not known for your power,” Smith said.

Tank can’t knock out middleweights unless they are top-tier fighters, and he won’t stop any of the quality welterweights.

If Stephen talks about a paper champion at 147, like Mario Barrios. Yes, Tank has already proven that he can stop that guy, but he hasn’t beaten anyone since moving up to 147, other than Yordenis Ugas, very exhausted and rusty in the ring.

“You’re basically using your superior skills and proving against a smaller, faster guy that skills don’t fade. But if you’re a bigger guy and you’re clearly the powerful guy, that leaves someone at a clear disadvantage, and I think that’s unfair.

“So, that’s how I see it, and that’s what bothers me about Gervonta fighting this guy. There’s Teófimo López at 140. Fight that brother. Fight someone your size or bigger,” Smith said.

The boxing business

This is an example of Smith revealing that he is just a casual fan with basic knowledge of the sport. His forte is obviously basketball and football more than boxing.

It seems clear that Stephen A. does not recognize how Tank Davis’ career has been orchestrated by his promoters and management. It’s not that he couldn’t fight the best his size or bigger, but that there was too much risk. It was easier to take on low-risk fights.

Gervonta, formerly of Mayweather’s promotion, has moved carefully since the beginning of his career and nothing has changed. He’s never had a 50-50 fight, and he sure isn’t willing to start now that he’s supposedly at the bottom with only three fights left before he retires.