Alalshikh Wants to Make Tank Davis vs Naoya Inoue a Reality
For many boxing fans, a fight they would love to witness is a showdown between reigning WBA lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis (Abdul Wahid) (29-0, 27 KOs) and current undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya “Monster” Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs). Rising boxing power player Turki Alalshikh believes he can deliver that fight to the boxing masses.
Alalshikh is the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority. During an exclusive interview on the MMA Fighting podcast, he called Tank versus Inoue one of his dream fights. Never one to be shy about what he wants for boxing, the Saudi chairman put out the following scenario in which he thinks it could occur.
“If they reach the right weight and give us the right proposal, then we can deliver it, and this is a message from me to them.”
SIZE MATTERS
The obstacle is the weight of both combatants. Davis fights at 135. Inoue is presently fighting at 122. For them to fight, it would have to be at a catchweight. The question is: what weight would that be? Davis has fought and won a world title at 130 pounds. Would the reigning lightweight champion be willing to drop back down in weight at this stage of his career?
Coming off a sixth-round stoppage over Luis Nery on May 6, The Monster said he’s pushing his body to the limit. Many in the boxing community feel that the 31-year-old will fight no higher than the featherweight division.
WILL PERSISTENCE PAY OFF?
But the Saudi Chairman is quite the tenacious individual. He sent a message to the camp of Inoue as a clear sign to push the initiative.
“Please, please, don’t keep him inside Japan. Make the world see it. Make him come to us.
Make him do a fight in Saudi Arabia, in America, in London, and we’re ready to talk about it.
He’s a great fighter. It would be a shame. It would be a shame if he quit after some years, and 95-99 percent of his fights are inside Japan.”
The counterargument would be: why would Inoue need to pack his bags to fight, given the millions he’s currently making fighting at home? Plus, he’s already fought abroad in the United States and in Scotland. However, Alalshikh has a vast amount of resources at his disposal. He’s been at the center of most of the big events in boxing over the past twelve months. His influence is growing at a rapid rate.
On the surface, a clash between Tank and Inoue seems highly unlikely. But if the Chairman gets his way and it happens, it would be one of the biggest boxing coups in recent memory.
