"BOXING HAS SAVED MY LIFE"

Long before embarking on a road that would lead him to the precipice of boxing immortality, Gervonta Davis was a lost soul roaming the streets of a crime-filled section of West Baltimore, seemingly destined to become another tragic statistic.

Jail or death—those appeared to be the only life options for young men living in and around Davis’ rough neighborhood. A southpaw nicknamed “Tank” by an amateur coach for his large head, Davis spent time in foster care and group homes. Fortunately, with the help of one of his friends, Quaadir Gurley, Davis found a safe haven within the confines of The Upton Boxing Center’s gym at age 7. He quickly threw himself into the sport fists first. 

Gurley introduced Davis to his father, Calvin Ford, the man who would eventually become Davis’ longtime coach. The inspiration for the character, Dennis “Cutty” Wise on the popular HBO television series, “The Wire,” Ford guided Davis through a 206-15 amateur career that included winning a National Golden Gloves Championship in 2012, three consecutive National Silver Gloves crowns from 2006-2008, and two each in the National Junior Olympics gold medals, the National Police Athletic League, and the Ringside World Championships.

Two years before Gurley was shot and killed in 2013, Davis grieved the loss of Ronald Gibbs, a rising amateur boxer who was just 17 when he was stabbed to death while defending his sister during an argument. The following year, Angelo Ward, another promising amateur, was shot to death.

“Before Coach Ford, I had no father figure because my father was in and out of jail. Angelo Ward, Ronald Gibbs and Coach Calvin’s son—they’re guys who died and were such a major influence on my life,” said Davis, a lifelong Baltimore resident who dropped out of high school to focus on his career, later to earn a secondary degree through a GED program.

“Actually, many young men I used to look up to are either dead or in jail. Whenever I fight, I feel like their legacy is going into the ring with me. It’s a big responsibility, but I’ll take that. There’s a lot of bad stuff that comes from Baltimore, but if they see that one person can do it, then the next one can do it, and so on and so on. The only thing that I can do is to bring light to Baltimore. Boxing has saved my life.”

CATCHING THE EYE OF FLOYD MAYWEATHER

An 18-year-old Davis made his professional debut with an 89-second knockout of 125-pound rival Desi Williams on February 22, 2013. Davis displayed two-fisted power, dazzling speed, accuracy and athleticism.

Williams was the first of eight consecutive victories, all knockouts. In October 2014, Davis was extended the distance for the first time in his career, dropping German Meraz twice en route to a shutout unanimous decision win.

Davis resumed his knockout ways in emphatic fashion in 2015, scoring stoppages in all five of his bouts.  

It was around this time that four-division champion Adrien Broner introduced Davis to the legendary Floyd Mayweather Jr., who became the fighter’s promoter. 

“Adrien Broner brought him to the gym (in Las Vegas), and we saw him work,” said Mayweather, who predicted Davis’ stardom. “We stacked the cards against him that day, but he’s a very explosive fighter and a future world champion.” 

Davis concurred. 

“There’s a lot of knowledge that Floyd has passed on to me,” he said, “showing me the right things in and outside of boxing. I’m trying to reach the next younger generation of fighters who look up to me.”

THE CHAMPIONSHIP RUN

Davis became a two-time 130-pound champion over his next eight bouts, all knockouts. The road to the crown included a third-round stoppage of former champion Cristobal Cruz on October 10, 2015, improving Davis’ mark to 13-0 (12 KOs). 

Davis needed just 41 seconds to finish Mexican veteran Mario Antonio Macias on June 3, 2016. 

But it was his title-winning performance that made all sit up. On January 14, 2017, “Tank” steamrolled previously undefeated IBF world super featherweight champion Jose Pedraza, flattening him with a crunching right hook in the seventh round at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

In doing so, the 22-year-old Davis became America’s youngest reigning champion in boxing at the time, and the first Baltimore fighter with a world title since heavyweight Hasim Rahman upset Lennox Lewis in April 2001.

Davis had won his first world title in only his 17th professional fight, surpassing Mayweather, who won his first championship in his 18th bout. 

Davis went overseas for his first defense on May 20, 2017, scoring a third-round TKO over unbeaten Brit Liam Walsh in Walsh’s native England. 

In Davis’ next bout, on the undercard of Mayweather’s 10th-round TKO of Conor McGregor on August 26, 2017, he stopped another unbeaten opponent,  Francisco Fonseca, in eight rounds.

However, Davis would lose his title on the scales prior to the bout. But he wouldn’t be without a belt for long. 

On April 21, 2018, Davis returned to Barclays Center, where he first won a world title, and captured another with a third-round TKO over former champion Jesus Cuellar. 

STAR POWER

Davis was fast becoming one of the biggest names in the sport. He was scheduled to face three-division world champion Abner Mares on February 9, 2019. A win over Mares would have catapulted him to superstar status. However, Mares suffered an eye injury during training and was forced to pull out. 

Nevertheless, the stars were out to see Davis as Drake, Lil Wayne, Meek Mill, Odell Beckham, Antonio Brown, Birdman, Jeezy and more sat ringside at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

Davis didn’t disappoint, obliterating late replacement Hugo Ruiz inside one round. 

On July 27, 2019, Davis became the first Baltimore native to defend in his hometown since Harry Jeffra defended the featherweight world title in 1940. 

Naturally, he did it in style.

In front of a sellout crowd of 14,686 raucous fans at the Royal Farms Arena, “Tank” manhandled Ricardo Nunez, putting him away with a series of left-hand power shots in the second round. 

“It’s amazing to fight in front of my fans and friends,” Davis said. “It’s not only a win for me, but a win for Baltimore. He wasn’t ready at all times. I took advantage and I took the shot. I caught him with a good shot. I’m only 24 and I’m growing every day. I’m learning and progressing, I’m working.”

People took notice. Davis drew over 200,000 searches on that Saturday alone, making him number one on Google Trends for that day. Further, two different social media videos of Davis’ KO of Nunez drew over 1.4 million views. 

According to a Forbes.com article, based on the metrics they analyzed, Davis is poised to become boxing’s next pay-per-view star. 

BRINGING BOXING BACK TO ATLANTA

On December 28, 2019, Davis drew a raucous crowd of 14,129 to State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Davis was attempting to become a two-division world champ as he took on former unified world champion Yuriorkis Gamboa in Georgia’s first world title match in over 21 years. On the line was the WBA world lightweight title. 

Davis was sharp early on, dropping Gamboa with a short left in the second round. Gamboa rose but limped for the rest of the frame. Afterward, it was revealed that he tore an Achilles and would require surgery.

In lasting until the twelfth, Gamboa not only showed bravery, but also had his moments during the fight. However, it wasn’t enough to overcome Davis, who dropped Gamboa in the eighth and finally in the 12th to close the show at 1:17 of the frame. 

“Coming into this fight, I knew Gamboa was a tough opponent, even though everybody was writing him off,” Davis said. “I was catching him and I was hurting him, even though he was alert. I believe my performance was a C-plus.”