Devin Haney Says Tank Davis Will Not Fight Him Despite his Talk
What does it mean to be a champion? Well, to be honest, in today’s murky boxing waters this can yield very contrasting responses. For example, undisputed lightweight champion Devin “The Dream” Haney (28-0, 15 KO’s) believes that being champion means you unquestionably are the best in the division. This is no doubt why he sought out to become the undisputed champion of the 135-pound weight division.
Then there is Gervonta “Tank” Davis (27-0, 25 KO’s). He too is technically a champion within the lightweight division. This is due to his ownership of the WBA Regular title. Yet, Haney’s undisputed status inherently holds superiority in rank over Tank’s title. In fact, the WBA has already launched their own initiative to dissolve all their Regular titles. Therefore, Davis can’t truly lay claim to being the best in the division or even his sole sanctioning body.
So what does it mean to be champion for Gervonta Davis? Is it merely hardware? Just something cool to say? Perhaps, it’s an additional bargaining chip at the negotiation table? Maybe, who knows? But it couldn’t be a symbol of true dominance.
I’M HERE, WHERE YOU AT?!
These clearly were the sentiments of Haney when speaking with ThaBoxingVoice.
“Yeah, the fight has been built up for years and at the end of the day, if he want the fight he could have the fight. Because he’s the WBA fake champion, he has the Mickey Mouse belt. So if he wanted to become my mandatory, he could become my mandatory. All you got to do is hit up [WBA president] Gilberto [Mendoza], tell him, ‘hey we want to make this fight happen,’ and he can become the mandatory whenever he want.”
Predictably, The Dream, 23, is not willing to be sold a dream as he has little to no faith that Tank will pen a fight with him.
“Like I been saying, they say everything but, ‘let’s fight!’ He always to say the most outlandish shit he could possibly say besides fighting! Like he do anything but say he wants to fight. So, I said what I said about that. And, at the end of the day we can make the fight happen if you want the fight to happen, it is what it is. ”
ALL WOOF AND NO TOOTH
Sadly, this seemingly naked avoidance of the top fighters around has been a troubling trend of Davis’s for a number of years. This is especially frustrating because of his evident talent, ferocious power and ample fights to be made. On the table he has this fight with Devin Haney, a big showcase fight with Ryan Garcia and a warmly welcomed rematch with Isaac Cruz.
Despite his name value and general popularity in the sport, Davis has rarely, if ever, faced the cream of the available crop. Supporting what The Dream said about Tank being more bark than bite, Davis, 27, recently forcefully called out Haney before the Kambosos rematch.
Yet, after saying he wanted the fight “next,” when Haney won, somehow his tongue got cut and kicked across the street. Currently, Davis is coming off a sensational knockout win over lightweight division class clown Rolando Romero. While Romero’s out of the ring antics have elevated his career, when compared to the elite of the division, Romero is remedial at best. This brings us back to the heart of the subject. What does it mean to be a champion? And is Davis ready to prove that he really is one at lightweight?
By: Bakari Simpson
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