(Easton, PA. June 28th, 2014) – Earlier today I had the pleasure to speak with young, upcoming talent Gervonta Davis (7-0, 7 KOs) who resides in Baltimore, MD and hails out of the Upton Boxing Center In his hometown.
Before going pro, Davis won countless tournaments as an amateur, notable ones are his first, which was the USA Boxing Junior Olympic Tournament (Silver Gloves). Davis then again won the silver gloves tournament at the 80lbs weight class, after falling short in the 70lbs tournament. Other notable tournament wins are the Police Athletic League Tournament, which he won twice. Davis was looking to compete in the 2012 London Olympics, but was unable to, due to his age,
“It affected me that I couldn’t compete. I trained hard and won so many tournaments. I should have been there; I hope they know, I should have been there.”
“Everything happens for a reason, going professional was the next option. Times were hard so I needed to go pro.”
Davis, who is only 19 years of age, spent a lot of time in the gym during school, causing him to drop out, but that still did not stop him from returning and still getting the education he wanted,
“I was taking too many days off at school because of tournaments, which led me to drop out.”
“I’m going to balance it out and head back now; I’ll be graduating next year with class of 2015.”
Since going pro Davis has been able to much better manage his time, being that as an amateur he did a lot of traveling for tournaments and is now heading back to finish what he started In school.
Aside from boxing, Davis says he loves animals, as a kid he wanted to be a vet and still does, but his focus is strictly on school and boxing,
“I was young when I started boxing, so I didn’t know what I wanted at the time. As a kid I did want to be a vet because I love animals, I still do, but right now my main focus is school and boxing.”
“Once I saw my talent, and I won my first tournament, I knew I had it in me.”
At one point, boxing was just a sport for Davis, as a kid he says he was in many altercations, so his uncles wanted to use that but in a much more positive way,
“I was in many fights as a kid, so my family wanted to use that but in a more positive way. When I was like 10-0, and started winning all these tournaments, I really didn’t know how to take it.”
Being a teen still, and a professional, I was curious as to if during the summer he wanted to stay focused on boxing, or do things aside with friends and family,
“I just want to stay active and stay in the gym. I want to do anything to keep my name out there.”
“Summer heat is doing me well, Its making me sweat a lot so I’m losing weight haha.”
Davis’s outlook in boxing is a positive one, unlike some now who use TV antics to get the attention, he says he will be doing the complete opposite in his career,
“I want to be a role model all around, a transition for people to see. Where I come from, it’s hard, but people don’t understand that. There’s a lot of motivation out there, if people don’t get motivation, I want to be their motivation, someone they can look up to.
“I want to be like Floyd Mayweather is now; I want to be a people’s champ!”
On the topic of wanting to be similar to one of boxing’s greats, It should be noted, Davis is signed with powerful boxing advisor/manager, Al Haymon, something that Davis is very honored to say about his career,
“A lot of people were looking to sign me, Mike Tyson’s people, I was in New York with 50 Cent, but my coach always said, don’t sign with anyone that’s not Al Haymon. I mean you hear this guy’s name everywhere; he can guide me to the right path and build me up instead of rushing my career. When I signed with him, I posted it all over social media right away then got a phone call saying I shouldn’t (laughing), I was happy but like they said to me, it’ll all come around and people will know eventually.”
I just had to ask Davis’s if thanking Al Haymon before anyone else, is slated somewhere in the contract,
“Ha-ha I didn’t see anything about thanking him”
That was good enough for me. With perhaps the best manager in boxing, Davis’s career is already headed down the right path, a venue he showed interest in, as a host for one of his fights, is Brooklyn’s Barclays Center,
“I want to fight In Vegas, I think everyone wants to fight there, but another place is the Barclays!”
With Aug.9th looming in, and the card having Al Haymon fighters, Davis showed a lot of interest in performing there, “Actually, I’m hoping I can be on the Garcia card, but I did just fight last month, but I would still love to be on that card.”
“I’d also love to fight in LA, I Iove LA, even though I’ve never been there haha, but I love it! I hope to move out there, build a gym, and keep on doing my thing.”
One of Davis’s big goals is to become a huge attraction in boxing, much bigger than the fellow PPV stars we have now,
“I’m still young, so I want everything to just fall into place. My team will continue to build me, you can’t fight and win then expect to be big, and know you have to build yourself, in and out of the ring. I want to be a big attraction and PPV star, not like Floyd and Canelo though, much bigger than them.”
“You’re just as good as your last fight, I want to try to at least be 10-0 before the year ends, and then stay active in 2015, have maybe like 5-6 fights. That’ll give me a good record and begin to put me in good places.”
Gervonta is trained by long time trainer, Calvin Ford, who has been with him since the beginning,
“Calvin is like my dad, He believed in me when no one else did, he has guided me, he has been there for me. When I needed a place to stay he would take me in, especially during tournaments, If I needed clothes, he gave me clothes.
Whatever I needed, Calvin was there for me when no one else was.”
“He’s a great, great person, not just as a person but a coach as well”
Ford has been with Davis since the start of his boxing days, training him through the amateurs and now as a professional.
I asked Davis if being a professional at a young age and still being young, affected any outside time with friends and family. “It doesn’t take time away actually, when I’m training for a fight, I do train a lot but I go straight home right after. I don’t go out a lot, its gym and home simply.”
“I still get to spend time with family and friends so it works out great for me.”
With a outstanding record of 7 wins and 7 knockouts, Davis is very proud of the record he holds,
“I’m proud of the record, but I think the competition will step up from now on, my last opponent, actually fought Raynell Williams, who is a former 2008 Olympian and gave him a hard time, so people were expecting the same with me, so I said, why not stopping him, and I did, in 2 rounds.”
Something that stood out to be was Davis’s opinion on another fellow star in his division, WBO Featherweight champion, Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1 KO) who just recently beat Gary Russell Jr for the vacant title,
“He did good, he looked good too, he boxed Russell when he wanted to, and he brawled with Russell when he wanted to, but I do think it was a bit disrespectful to let a guy like him and that record get a title shot. He is still a good fighter but I do hope to fight him one day for that belt.”
In which he shortly followed him,
“Actually, I will fight him for that belt, I will. I just want to prove myself and be the best!”
So positive and force driven in his confidence Gervonta Davis, has all the ingredients to be a power house in boxing, confidence, the right team, a stellar fighter and being guided in the right direction. Be sure to be on the lookout for Gervonta Davis as he continues to pursue his dreams and goals in boxing.
“I want to thank everyone who has supported me and still does, I fight for you guys. I love all of my supporters and even if you don’t support me, I still love you guys. I want to be a great person in boxing and a great role model in boxing.”
