Gervonta Davis has long accustomed us to his excesses and his numerous legal troubles, all of which have inevitably affected his career, overshadowing his undeniable talent. Now the WBA leadership (the organization whose lightweight title belt was held by Tank), following yet another arrest warrant issued against Gervonta by Miami police, has decided that the boxer will be named “Champion in Recess” and that the organization will soon move toward new title fights.
Confirming Davis’s demotion is WBA president Gilberto Jesus Mendoza himself, a move that will bring to an end Davis’s reign, which had lasted since 2019.
All of this is inevitable, given that Gervonta is wanted by Florida police on charges of assault, false imprisonment, and attempted kidnapping involving his former girlfriend. These issues have also recently caused the cancellation of the planned bout with Jake Paul, who then replaced Tank with Anthony Joshua.
Even without the criminal charges he is now facing, the WBA had already decided to strip Davis of the title had he gone through with that senseless fight against the YouTuber instead of granting a rematch to Lamont Roach. In recent years, Gervonta has fought very little and in his latest outings—such as the draw with Roach—he has looked anything but sharp and in top form.
There is now talk of a bout for the vacant title between Floyd Schofield of Golden Boy Promotions and Lucas Bahdi of MVP, but before proceeding, President Mendoza has made it clear that Davis will be given time to defend himself and present his case.
Is this the sporting end of an unfulfilled talent, or will Tank manage to sort everything out and return to prove his worth in the ring?