Top Rank boss Bob Arum has acknowledged that negotiations for a unification clash between his fighter, IBF lightweight champion Vasily Lomachenko, and WBA regular champ Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis will restart next week.
If the fight gets made, Tank Davis’ WBA and Lomachenko’s IBF titles will be at stake in this long overdue two-fight unification clash. The winner of the fight will be viewed as the #1 guy in the lightweight division.
Target Date: November/December
Arum is targeting the Tank vs. Lomachenko fight for November or December, which would be an excellent time to give the boxing public a mega fight late in the year.
This might be the biggest fight of the 29-year-old Gervonta Davis’ 11-year career, as he’s never faced an A-level fighter like Lomachenko in a 50-50 fight. Given Tank’s big step up in class, we don’t know how he’ll respond against this type of talent.
Tank was getting his head boxed off last Saturday night by Frank Martin until knocking him out in the eighth round, and he’s not considered a great boxer.
Davis will have to raise his game considerably to defeat Lomachenko because this usual style of playing possum for five to seven rounds, waiting for an opportunity to land a single homerun punch, might not work against the hard-to-hit Loma.
Tank’s fighting style is too simplistic and predictable. The two-time Olympic gold medalist Lomachenko has seen fighters like Tank Davis throughout his successful amateur career, and he could take him to school to embarrass the one-trick pony.
You can’t fault Tank Davis’ promoters for protecting him all these years, keeping him unbeaten, and turning him into a star without facing risky opposition. It’s been a good hustle.
Alternative Options
Arum mentions that negotiations between Tank and Lomachenko had already started, which was a continuation of the talks. If Team Tank wants this fight, we’ll see it happen next. It’s more up to them than Lomachenko, as he’s been calling him out for the last seven years and has met with resistance.
If the Davis-Lomachenko fight doesn’t happen, Tank will likely consider fighting Ryan Garcia or Shakur Stevenson. Those were the other two names that Tank Davis mentioned last Saturday night as guys that he’s interested in fighting.
A rematch with Ryan will be tricky, as he’s facing a potential suspension by the New York State Athletic Commission, and he might not be available until next year.
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