The action has been unbelievable between pound-for-pound boxing stars Devin Haney and Gervonta “Tank” Davis. The pace has been insane. Crowds have been awestruck by the dramatic ebb and flow. Neither fighter has taken a backward step. It’s been an incredible battle.
Oh, sorry, I don’t mean in the ring. No, the pair have been duking it out on their smartphones again. My apologies for getting your hopes up, but why should these guys get physical and give the fans what they want when you can just sit back and type? Let’s just ignore the fact that they punch for pay and enjoy all the social media shootouts instead.
Sarcasm to one side, we have had one positive that could lead to Haney and Davis exchanging punches as opposed to tweets. With Saudi Arabia here to stay in professional boxing, Turki Alalshikh, who chairs his country’s General Entertainment Authority, has let it be known that the fight is on his radar.
He’s already succeeded where others have failed by brokering the undisputed heavyweight championship fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, which takes place on February 17 in Riyadh. However, despite Fury vs. Usyk being the bigger fight internationally, does that mean Haney vs. Davis will be easier to make? Not bloody likely!
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Davis is represented by Premier Boxing Champions who are known for keeping the vast majority of their promotions in-house. This habit was snapped with Tank’s most recent fight, which was a seventh-round knockout of the Golden Boy-promoted Ryan Garcia last April. As exciting as this was, it was viewed as something of an aberration rather than a watershed moment.
Also, PBC recently struck a deal with Amazon Prime following Showtime’s departure from pro boxing. Would they be willing to stake one of their biggest names against a promotional rival this early in a new business relationship?
Haney is not under contract with any promoter, but his most recent outing – a dominant 12-round unanimous decision win over Regis Prograis – was presented by Matchroom Boxing.
The 25-year-old Haney is now the reigning WBC super lightweight champion and the former undisputed lightweight king. You’d think potential big-name opponents would be kicking his door down, right? Wrong!
The aforementioned Garcia called out Haney, his former amateur rival, immediately after stopping Oscar Duarte on December 2. However, one month and a Las Vegas jog with acclaimed fistic businessman Floyd Mayweather saw Garcia change his mind in a hurry. The Californian will now target WBA super lightweight titleholder Rolando “Rolly” Romero, who also happens to be a PBC fighter.
Incidentally, Mayweather was once managed by PBC owner Al Haymon and they’re best of friends. Reading between the lines, PBC would rather work with Golden Boy again than potentially enter into business with Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn for a colossal and dangerous superfight.
Leonard Ellerbe, an advisor to Davis, offered his thoughts on a Haney vs. Davis showdown back in December. “One thing for certain, if Tank decides he wants to fight in Saudi, Tank will deal directly, and [Hearn] damn sure won’t have anything to do with it,” Ellerbe stated via Twitter (X).
“Also, if Tank and Haney fight, the offer will come from Tank on his terms and it will be made directly to them.” That inspires confidence, right?
Maybe Turki Alalshikh can throw so much money at the matchup that all the bickering becomes irrelevant. Hell, he managed to get Hearn working with long-time promotional rival Frank Warren, so anything is possible.
The other problem with Haney vs. Davis would be revenue splits. While Haney is the more decorated fighter of the two and higher up on most pound-for-pound lists, Tank is the bigger draw.
The Baltimore-born star is a proven PPV commodity while Haney is yet to excel on that business model. On this basis, Team Davis argues that Tank is the A-side and that he’s entitled to the lion’s share. Just how big would the lion’s share be and could Team Haney swallow their pride here?
In the meantime, we have this from Haney: “I’ve been calling [Davis] out for years,” said the champion via Twitter (X). “He only say something when I got a fight, but now I don’t. We can fight now, wherever he chooses! He said we don’t know how to contact him, well, have your people reach out, Gervonta.”
And when former two-time welterweight champion Shawn Porter stated that Haney vs. Davis would never happen, Tank felt compelled to respond: “Ask Shawn this question: If I beat his ass in the gym and he was over 147 pounds, why the f–k would I be scared to fight a motherf—-r with just a nose. S–t not adding up!”
Oh, and we haven’t mentioned weight yet. While Davis picked up a WBA “regular” title at 140 pounds by knocking out Mario Barrios in 2021, he’s been fighting predominantly at lightweight.
When he faced Garcia, it was at a catchweight of 136 pounds with a rehydration clause. That being the case, what would Team Davis ask of Haney to get this fight over the line? Haney’s days at lightweight are over and everyone in boxing knows it.
No, call me cynical, but even Turki Alalshikh and all the king’s men can’t put Haney vs. Davis together. There’s more chance of being kicked by a snake than seeing this fight in 2024.
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