As humans get older we tend to look at the younger generations and scold the way they do things. We see them as being less respectful and lazy. One would assume that would be attributed to grumpiness as some of us turn to bitter old men but in some cases, it is true. The younger generations lack the qualities that we hold dear. Though I’m only 32 years of age I sometimes feel like Clint Eastwood’s character in the movie Gran Torino when I see the way that many of this younger generation behave. It’s not something you want to see in sports as sports usually require a tremendous amount of discipline but that is not always the case.
In my opinion, Gervonta Davis is one of the brightest up-and-coming fighters in professional boxing. You could tell from his amateur days and his accomplishments that he was destined for greatness. He won numerous Golden Gloves, Silver Gloves and numerous Ringside Championships. If that was not enough to convince you from early on he had an amateur record of 206 victories with only 15 losses. Needless to say, he was well experienced by the time he hit the professional scene.
As a professional, Davis worked his way up facing opponents with mediocre records to decent records and he eventually made a big splash when he took on and stopped Jose Pedraza. That victory drew a tremendous amount of attention towards Davis. Fans expected him to shine bright and impress in the coming bouts after that fight. In his first fight after facing Pedraza, Davis took on and stopped Liam Walsh in impressive fashion but it took him three attempts to make weight which lead to speculation that a possible move up in weight seemed to be necessary. In his last fight, Davis showed up late to the weigh-in and failed to make weight and did not even attempt to lose the necessary weight to keep his title. Many viewed this as disrespectful and a lack of dedication to the sport and the heat did not stop there as to the way his fight with Francisco Fonseca ended.
In the ring, Davis is a tremendous athlete. When he is on point and showcases his skills he is a force to be reckoned with. His showboating is unnecessary and while he may think that it entertains fans it comes across as more annoying and unnecessary. Outside the ring, there has been a lot going on through his career to bring dislike towards his character. Warrants for aggravated assault, numerous reports of him being unable to handle himself on a personal level and recently with his comments to Michelle Rosado is more than enough to leave the wrong impression on anyone.
Davis has often stated that he has Floyd Mayweather as a role model and he tries to emulate what Floyd has done. That could be both a good and a bad thing. It could work out well, business-wise and it could be great when it comes time to cash paychecks but if he goes there Adrien Broner way of trying to emulate Floyd Mayweather then he’s just going to end up a train wreck and just another guy on Worldstar which would be a shame. There’s a quote from the movie A Bronx Tale that always comes in handy when it comes to any kind of sport and that is ” the saddest thing in the world is wasted talent.”
Julio Garcia
