Gervonta Davis surprisingly posted a “good luck’ message to Naoya Inoue today on X, wishing the unified super bantamweight champion success in his title defense against Ye Joon Kim this Friday at the Ariake Arena, Koto-Ku in Tokyo, Japan.
(Credit: Naoka Fakuda)
‘Monster’ Inoue doesn’t need much luck to defeat his replacement opponent Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) isn’t in the same league talent-wise, nor is he at the level of many of the top 15 contenders at 122.
Tank’s True Intentions?
Fans still question why Team Inoue picked Kim as the substitute after Naoya’s scheduled initial opponent, Sam Goodman, suffered a cut and had to withdraw from the fight two weeks ago. Indeed, a better fighter than Kim could have been selected. It’s pretty sneaky of Gervonta trying to worm his way into Inoue’s good graces so he can get a fight against him.
Many people find Tank’s rooting for Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) strange because he’s wanted to fight him for ages. The highly ranked pound-for-pound fighter Naoya, 31, hasn’t shown any interest in moving up to lightweight to take on Gervonta for his WBA belt.
Tank doesn’t need to waste time trying to curry favor with Inoue, hoping that if he’s nice to him, he’ll move up to 130 or 135 for a mega-money fight. The Japanese star has shown his stripes. He doesn’t even want to move up to 126. If he ain’t willing to go up to featherweight to take on the killer sharks in that weight class, he’s definitely not going to go up even higher to take on a predator like Tank Davis with no chance of winning.
Look what an old Nonito Donaire did to Naoya six years ago in their fight on November 7, 2019, fracturing his right orbital bone, cutting him above that eye, and breaking his nose. Inoue looked like he’d been in a trainwreck. He was all messed up. Ever since then, Naoya has taken no risks with his career.
Yo NAOYA INOUE good luck fam..
— Gervonta Davis (@Gervontaa) January 23, 2025
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