Gervonta Bryant Davis ( ; born November 7, 1994), also known by his nickname "Tank", is an American

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

. He has held the

World Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is an international professional boxing organization based in Panama. The WBA awards its world championship title at the professional level. Founded ...

(WBA)

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

title since 2023, having previously held the Regular version from 2019 to 2023. He also held the

International Boxing Federation The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts. The others are the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing C ...

(IBF)

super featherweight Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a weight division in professional boxing, contested between and . The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although first founded by the New ...

title in 2017, the WBA super featherweight title ( Super version) twice between 2018 and 2020, and the WBA

super lightweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

title (Regular version) in 2021.

Early life

Davis was raised in the Sandtown-Winchester community in West Baltimore, one of the most crime-ridden areas of the city. His parents were drug addicts, and were frequently in and out of jail. Davis has one brother. He attended Digital Harbor High School, a local

magnet school In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. Normally, a student will attend an elementary school, and this also determines the middle school and high school they attend unless they mo ...

, but dropped out to focus on his career. He later earned his secondary degree through a GED program.

Amateur career

Davis has been training at Upton Boxing Center since he was five years old. Davis is trained by Calvin Ford who was the inspiration for the character Dennis "Cutty" Wise on the hit

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

television series, ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...

''. Davis won the 2012 National

Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves of America is an organization that promotes annual competitions of amateur boxing in the United States, in which winners are awarded a belt and a ring, and the title of national champion. The organization currently owns 30 fr ...

Championship, three straight National Silver Gloves Championships from 2006 to 2008, two National Junior Olympics gold medals, two National Police Athletic League Championships, and two Ringside World Championships. Davis finished his amateur career with a record of 206 wins and 15 losses.

Professional career

Super featherweight

Early career

Davis made his debut at the age of 18 on February 22, 2013, against Desi Williams, who had a professional record of 0 wins and 4 losses, all by stoppage. The fight took place at the

D.C. Armory The D.C. Armory is an Armory (military), armory and a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Washington, D.C. Managed by the Washington Convention and Sports Authority, the Armory was constructedWashington on the undercard of IBF junior welterweight fight between Lamont Peterson and

Kendall Holt Kendall Holt (born June 14, 1981) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2013, and held the WBO junior welterweight title from 2008 to 2009. Early life Holt had a very tough upbringing in his native Paterson, New Je ...

. Davis won the bout via first-round

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

(KO). By August 2014, Davis had recorded 8 wins and no losses, with all wins coming inside the distance. Davis was taken the full distance for the first time in October 2014 against veteran 28-year-old Germán Meraz (47–31–1, 25 KOs). Davis knocked Meraz down in rounds three and five, and went on to win a

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighte ...

(UD), with all three judges scoring the bout 60–52. Nonetheless Meraz became the 1st fighter to go the full distance against Davis. On February 20, 2015, at the CONSOL Energy Center in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, Pennsylvania, Davis became the first person to stop Israel Suarez (4–4–2, 1 KO), winning in devastating fashion with a first-round KO. On May 22, 2015, at The Claridge Hotel in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

, Davis scored a

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

(TKO) against Alberto Mora (5–3, 1 KO) 1 minute 14 seconds into the fight. The normally durable Mora was stopped for the first time in his career. On September 12, 2015, at the

MGM Grand Garden Arena The MGM Grand Garden Arena is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose arena within the MGM Grand Las Vegas, MGM Grand resort, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The venue opened on December 31, 1993, with a concert by Barbra Streisand, and s ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

on Showtime as part of the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Andre Berto undercard, Davis defeated Recky Dulay (8–1, 5 KOs) in only 94 seconds. On October 30, 2015 , at The Venue at UCF in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, on

Bounce TV Bounce TV is an American digital terrestrial television, digital broadcast television network owned by Scripps Networks, a subsidiary of E. W. Scripps Company. It launched on September 26, 2011, and was promoted as "the first 24/7 digital multic ...

, Davis defeated veteran 38-years-old former featherweight title holder Cristobal Cruz (40–18–4, 24 KOs). On December 18, 2015, at the

Palms Casino Resort Palms Casino Resort is a hotel and casino located near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned and operated by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. It includes 703 rooms and a casino. It was originally owned by th ...

in Las Vegas on

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel and the flagship property of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, who operates it through the MTV Entertainment Group. The network's headquarters are locate ...

, Davis scored a ninth-round KO over Luis Sanchez (17–4–1, 5 KOs). On April 1, 2016, at the D.C. Armory on Spike TV, Davis defeated Guillermo Avila (16–5, 13 KOs) by KO in the sixth round. On June 3, 2016, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the Broward County#Communities, third-largest city in Broward County, th ...

, as part of a Premier Boxing Champions card, Davis knocked out Mario Antonio Macias (28–18, 14 KOs) with his first punch of the fight, which lasted only 41 seconds.

Davis vs. Pedraza

On November 15, 2016

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

announced that Davis would challenge for the IBF super featherweight title against undefeated José Pedraza (22–0, 12 KOs) on January 14, 2017, at the

Barclays Center Barclays Center ( ) is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liber ...

in New York on Showtime. The fight would take place as an undercard fight to the

super middleweight Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pounds ( ...

world title unification fight between James DeGale and Badou Jack. The IBF granted Pedraza an exemption to fight Davis, as he had a mandatory fight against Liam Walsh looming. Prior to the fight being announced,

Mayweather Promotions Mayweather Promotions, LLC is a boxing promotional firm founded in 2007 by Floyd Mayweather Jr., after exercising a provision in his contract with Bob Arum and Top Rank that allowed him to become a free agent for the price of $750,000. Al Haymon ha ...

matchmakers tried to make a deal for Davis to fight titleholder Jason Sosa. In a very competitive fight Davis defeated Pedraza in a seventh-round KO to win the IBF super featherweight title. After the fight, Davis said that he had studied the early career of his promoter and mentor,

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (né Sinclair; born February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed between 1996 and 2017. He list of undefeated boxing world champions, retired with an undefeated record a ...

, in order to stay composed. He said, "I had a lot of experience rom the amateur ranks but I learned how to keep my composure. Floyd told me to stay calm, and I studied Floyd Mayweather ideoswhen he was 'Pretty Boy.' My uppercut was my best shot, and it was landing all night. It felt really good to fight the way I did. I could take it and dish it out." Mayweather Jr. himself enthusiastically branded his protégé as the future of boxing. For the fight, Davis earned $75,000 compared to Pedraza, who earned the larger sum of $225,000, in what was his third defense. At the time of stoppage, Davis was ahead 59–55 on all three judges' scorecards.

Davis vs. Walsh

On May 7, 2017, it was announced Davis would travel to London, England for his first title defense. The news came from Frank Warren, promoter of challenger Liam Walsh (21–0, 14 KO), who was also ranked number 1 by the IBF. The fight was scheduled to take place on May 20, 2017, and billed as Show me the Money'''. At the official weigh in on May 19, Davis showed up overweight and was given 2 hours to make weight. His first attempt, although he was naked, he weighed two ounces over. He was then given two hours to attempt to lose the extra weight, although he came back earlier thinking he had lost it but was still over the limit. He eventually met the limit of 130 pounds on his third attempt. Davis stopped Walsh in the third-round to retain his IBF title. After two cagey rounds, which were controlled by Davis, he came out with power punches at the start of the third. Walsh's legs looked to give way and Davis pounced with accurate hooks to the head, eventually dropping Walsh. Walsh beat the count. The fight resumed and Davis went on the attack again, connecting with every shot he threw, then referee Michael Alexander decided stop the fight, even though Walsh wanted to continue. The time of stoppage was 2 minutes and 11 seconds of round three. Many at ringside believed the stoppage was premature, including Walsh, "That was a bad stoppage. He's very fast and very active but it was too quick. He won fair and square but in England sometimes they stop the fight too early." The fight was shown live on Showtime in the U.S. averaging 228,000 viewers and peaking at 253,000 viewers.

Davis vs. Fonseca

According to TMZ Sports in early July 2017, it was reported that Davis would feature in the co-main event of Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor on August 26, 2017, at the

T-Mobile Arena T-Mobile Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Paradise, Nevada, United States. Opened on April 6, 2016, it is the home arena of the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). A joint venture between MGM Resorts International ...

Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an Unincorporated towns in Nevada, unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the ...

. On July 29, '' The Ring'' magazine reported that Davis would likely defend his IBF title against former WBO champion Román Martínez, whose last fight was a KO loss to

Vasyl Lomachenko Vasiliy Anatolyevich Lomachenko (also spelled Vasyl Anatoliyovych Lomachenko; , ; born 17 February 1988) is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed between 2013 and 2024. He has held multiple world championships in three weight class ...

in June 2016. On August 10, Ringtv reported that Davis would instead fight unbeaten prospect

Francisco Fonseca José Francisco "Kikin" Fonseca Guzmán (born 2 October 1979) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a striker. He currently works as a football analyst for Televisa Deportes Network. Club career Born in León, Guanajuato ...

(19–0–1, 13 KOs), who at the time was ranked number 7 by the IBF. According to some sources, the potential fight with Martínez was dropped due to it being short notice and Martínez would not have had enough time to make the 130-pound limit. Prior to the fight being announced, the IBF had ordered Fonseca to fight their number 3 ranked

Billy Dib Bilal Dib (born 17 August 1985), known as Billy Dib, is an Australian professional boxer. He held the IBF featherweight title from 2011 to 2013, and the IBO super-featherweight title in 2008. Early years Dib was born on 17 August 1985 at ...

(42–4, 24 KOs) in a final eliminator, as they were the two highest ranked available. At the weigh in, Fonseca came in at the 130-pound limit. Davis showed up an hour late and came in at 132 pounds, 2 pounds over the weight limit. Davis declined to weigh in after two hours, thus he was stripped of the IBF title. The title was declared vacant, but the title would be still up for grabs if Fonseca secured victory. In what was billed as an easy fight for Davis, he won the fight via KO in round eight, with the ending being controversial. The final punch appeared to be an illegal punch to the back of the head to Fonseca and referee Russell Mora counted him out 39 seconds into the round. After the fight, Davis mocked Fonseca. Fonseca appeared hurt before the knockout blow, which Davis, who was being booed by the crowd, explained to Jim Gray of Showtime in the post fight interview, "I actually caught him with a body shot before that and he was hurt. So he took advantage of me hitting him in the back of his head and went down." With the win, Davis scored his tenth-straight KO victory. Due to Davis winning the fight, the IBF title remained vacant. For the fight, Davis earned a purse of $600,000 compared to the amount $35,000 that Fonseca received.

Davis vs. Cuellar

On November 15, 2017, Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions announced that Davis would be making his in ring return in the first quarter of 2018 alongside stablemate Badou Jack. He also revealed that Davis would fight a high-level opponent. According to Ellerbe, Davis would remain at super featherweight and likely challenge for a world title in 2018. On January 24, 2018, Showtime announced that Davis would next appear on television on the undercard of Broner vs. Vargas on April 21 at the Barclays Center in New York. A day later, Ellerbe stated a deal was close to being reached for Davis to fight former world champion and IBF #3 Billy Dib (43–4, 24 KOs, 2 NC) in what would be an IBF eliminator. A purse bid, which was due to take place on January 25 was postponed to February 6. On February 21, it was reported by ESPN that the fight would not happen. Instead it was stated Davis' likely opponent would be

Jesús Cuellar Jesús Marcelo Andrés Cuéllar (born December 28, 1986) is an Argentine professional boxer. He held the list of WBA world champions#Featherweight, WBA (Regular) featherweight title from 2015 to 2016. Amateur career Cuellar had an amateur boxing ...

(28–2, 21 KOs). On March 5, the fight was finalized for the vacant

WBA (Regular) The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is an international professional boxing organization based in Panama. The WBA awards its world championship title at the professional level. Founded i ...

super featherweight title. Cuellar was moving up from featherweight for the fight, he was coming off a loss, and 2 years of inactivity. Prior to the fight,

Alberto Machado Alberto Josué Machado Becerril (born September 9, 1990) is a Puerto Rican professional boxer who held the WBA (Super) super featherweight title from 2017 to 2018. And held the WBA (Regular) super featherweight title from 2018 to 2018. Amateu ...

, the WBA (Super) champion at the same weight class, was inexplicably downgraded to 'Regular' champion, and the Davis-Cuellar fight was upgraded to be for Machado's WBA (Super) super featherweight title. In front of 13,964 in attendance, Davis knocked out Cuellar in round three. Davis first knocked down Cuellar in round two courtesy of a left hook to the body and then put him down twice in round three to get the stoppage. Referee Benjy Esteves Jr. stopped the action at 2 minutes 45 seconds into the round. Davis landed 49% of his power shots in the fight. Both boxers earned $350,000 apiece. After the fight, Davis stated he wanted to unify with the winner of

Tevin Farmer Tevin Farmer (born July 30, 1990) is an American professional boxer who held the IBF super featherweight title from 2018 to 2020. Farmer, who is right handed but fights in a southpaw stance, is known for his excellent boxing skills and speed. ...

vs.

, which would be contested for the IBF belt, the same belt Davis was stripped of. The bout opened Showtime's broadcast and averaged 460,000 viewers and peaked at 527,000 viewers.

Davis vs. Ruiz

In November 2018, Davis announced that he would defend his WBA title in February 2019 against former titlist

Abner Mares Abner Mares Martínez (born November 28, 1985) is a Mexican-American professional boxer who also works as a boxing analyst and commentator for Showtime. He has held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the IBF bant ...

(31–3–1, 15 KOs) in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. The fight was first teased by Mayweather via social media in August 2018, with no mention of a date or venue. The fight would see Mares moving up from featherweight, having lost his last fight in June 2018 against

Léo Santa Cruz Léodegario Santa Cruz (born 10 August 1988) is a Mexican professional boxer. He is a four-weight world champion, having held the IBF bantamweight title from 2012 to 2013, the WBC super bantamweight title from 2013 to 2015, the WBA (Super) f ...

. When the fight was announced, there was a lot of talk of Mares being 'thrown to the wolves' and that he had no real chance against Davis. Mares hit back at critics explaining it was his decision to move up in weight and test himself. On December 14, the fight was confirmed to take place on February 9, 2019, at

Pechanga Arena Pechanga Arena is an indoor arena in San Diego, California. Opened in 1966, it is an example of New Formalism architecture and has been designated by the City of San Diego as a historic resource. The arena has been home to numerous athletic team ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

on Showtime. A week later the venue was changed to

Dignity Health Sports Park Dignity Health Sports Park is a multi-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills, in Carson, California. The complex consists of the 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park soccer stadium, the Dignit ...

, in

Carson, California Carson is a city in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay and the Los Angeles Harbor Region, Harbor regions of Los Angeles County, California, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International ...

, formerly known as StubHub Center. Mares and Davis ultimately did not fight on the scheduled date after Mares suffered a potential career ending injury, a

detached retina Retinal detachment is a condition where the retina pulls away from the tissue underneath it. It may start in a small area, but without quick treatment, it can spread across the entire retina, leading to serious vision loss and possibly blindness. R ...

, during sparring. Instead Davis faced challenger

Hugo Ruiz Hugo Ruiz Dominguez (born September 21, 1988) is a Mexican professional boxer. He is the former WBC Super bantamweight. Professional career In September 2010, Ruiz beat the veteran Jesús Vázquez to win the WBC Continental Americas super fly ...

, Ruiz had to move up from super bantamweight to super featherweight for the fight. Davis knocked Ruiz out in the first round after breaking the challenger's nose.

Davis vs. Núñez

On July 27, 2019, Davis made the second defense of his WBA (Super) super featherweight title when he beat Ricardo Núñez by second-round technical knockout in front of a crowd of 12,000 fans in his home city of

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. Davis took his time feeling out his opponent in the first round. In the second round, after receiving a couple of punches from Nunez, Davis went into attack mode and connected multiple times on Nunez, which prompted the referee to jump in and stop the fight. His win marked the first time a native of Baltimore had returned to the city to defend a world title since featherweight champion

Harry Jeffra Harry Jeffra (born Ignacius Pasquale Guiffi on November 30, 1914 – September 1988) was an American boxer. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he became an Undisputed World Bantamweight and NYSAC World Featherweight boxing champion. Jeffra's career sp ...

defeated Spider Armstrong in 1940.

Lightweight

Davis vs. Gamboa

On December 28, 2019, Davis fought for the vacant WBA (Regular) lightweight title against veteran 38-year-old former featherweight title holder

Yuriorkis Gamboa Yuriorkis Gamboa Toledano (born 23 December 1981) is a Cuban professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight title ( Regular version) from 2009 to 2011, and the International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight ti ...

. In a competitive fight Davis won the fight by twelfth-round technical knockout. Gamboa came into the fight with an Achilles tear, and completely tore it in the second round, but somehow, he was able to last all the way to the 12th round. Davis had dropped Gamboa in the second and eighth rounds, in the twelfth and final round referee Jack Reiss stopped the fight, even though Gamboa wanted to continue. According to CompuBox punch stats, Davis had landed 120 of 321 punches thrown (37%), while Gamboa landed 78 of 617 thrown (13%).

Return to super featherweight

Davis vs. Santa Cruz

Making his PPV debut on October 31, 2020, on Showtime, Davis moved back down to super featherweight and recaptured his vacated WBA (Super) title against

, who had picked it up in a vacate title fight. The fight took place at

The Alamodome The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 milli ...

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, Texas. Early in the fight, Davis was knocked down by Santa Cruz, however it was not ruled a knockdown. In round 6, Davis caught Santa Cruz with a sharp left uppercut and the Mexican immediately fell to the canvas. The referee stopped the fight and Davis retained his lightweight title, while also recapturing the WBA (Super) super featherweight title. At the time of the stoppage, Davis was leading on all three judges' scorecards by the identical margin, 48–47. Over the course of just under six rounds, Davis had been out-landed and out-thrown by his opponent despite being the more accurate boxer: he landed 84 of 227 punches thrown (37%), while Santa Cruz landed 97 of 390 thrown (25%). His knockout of Santa Cruz was selected as the winner of ''The Ring'' Magazine Knockout of The Year award for 2020.

Super lightweight

Davis vs. Barrios

In his second fight headlining a Showtime PPV, Davis moved up to the

division for the first time in his career to face WBA (Regular) champion

Mario Barrios Mario Thomas Barrios (born May 18, 1995) is a Mexican-American professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight championship since 2024. Previously, he held the World Boxing Association (WBA) (Regular version) super li ...

on June 26, 2021, at the

State Farm Arena State Farm Arena is a multi-purpose arena located in Atlanta, Georgia. The arena serves as the home venue for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It also served as home to the Atlanta Thrashers of the National Hock ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. On the night, Davis prevailed in a competitive fight, knocking his opponent down twice in the eighth round, and again in the eleventh round. Even though Barrios wanted to continue the fight, referee Thomas Taylor decided to wave the fight off handing davis a TKO win. Davis was leading on all three judges' scorecards, with scores of 97–91 and 96–92 twice, at the time of the stoppage. According to CompuBox punch stats, Davis landed 96 of 296 total punches (32%), while Barrios connected on 93 of 394 total punches (24%). Sometime after the fight, Barrios revealed that the fight included a 10lb rehydration clause.

Return to lightweight

Davis vs. Cruz

On October 6, 2021, Davis announced that he would be facing his mandatory challenger,

Rolando Romero Rolando Florencio Romero Moreno (born October 14, 1995), known as Rolly Romero (, ), is an American professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title (WBA (Regular), Regular version) since May 2025. Previously ...

on December 5 at the

Staples Center Crypto.com Arena (originally and colloquially known as Staples Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in downtown Los Angeles. Opened on October 17, 1999, as Staples Center, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along F ...

in Los Angeles on Showtime PPV. However, Romero was pulled from the bout due to sexual assault allegations made against him, and was subsequently replaced with Isaac Cruz. Cruz was brought in at 2 weeks notice. On the night, Davis went the full distance for the second time in his career. In a very close and competitive fight Davis won via unanimous decision, with the judges' scorecards reading 115–113, 115–113 and 116–112 in his favor. Nevertheless, Cruz was only the second fighter to go the distance with Davis, after Germán Meraz.

Davis vs. Romero

Once Rolando Romero revealed on his

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

page in January 2022 that no charges against him were filed, as the claims of sexual abuse could not be substantiated, the WBA once again ordered Davis to make his WBA (Regular) title defense against Romero, and gave the pair until February 24 to come to terms. The pair agreed to face each other on May 28, in the main event of a Showtime PPV, at the

in New York City. In a very competitive fight, Rolly was finding success in the first 5 rounds, but in the 6th round Davis scored a knockdown. Rolly managed to get up from the knock down and wanted to continue, but the referee decided to wave the fight off, handing Rolly a TKO loss.

Davis vs. Héctor García

On January 7, 2023. Davis faced Héctor García on Showtime PPV at the

Capital One Arena Capital One Arena is an indoor arena in Washington, D.C. Located in the Chinatown section of the larger Penn Quarter neighborhood, the arena sits atop the Gallery Place rapid transit station of the Washington Metro. The arena was opened o ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, in his first fight since splitting from longtime promoter

García had to move up to lightweight for the fight. The fight was a closely-contested affair, until Davis landed a flush straight left early in the eighth round. Soon after, a fight broke out in the crowd at ringside with 2 minutes and 8 seconds left in the eighth round, causing the fight to be temporarily halted. When the action was resumed, Davis found success again with his left hand, visibly hurting García. The latter was disoriented after retreating to his stool in his corner, complaining about his eyesight. The fight was stopped, with Davis winning via eighth-round

corner retirement A corner retirement (also known as a corner stoppage) is a term in boxing used to describe a fight ending when a boxer refuses to continue or their corner team pulls them out during the rest period between rounds. This results in the referee sto ...

Catchweight

Davis vs. Ryan Garcia

On February 24, 2023, it was announced that Davis would face

Ryan Garcia Ryan Garcia (born August 8, 1998) is an American professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Council (WBC) interim lightweight title in 2021. Amateur career Garcia started boxing at the age of seven and dreamed of one day representing the ...

in a catchweight bout on April 22, in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. The long awaited bout would be a joint PPV event between Showtime and

DAZN DAZN (; pronounced "da zone") is a British Over-the-top media service, over-the-top sports Sports broadcasting, streaming and entertainment platform. Founded in 2007 as Perform Group via the merger of Premium TV Limited and Inform Group, it is o ...

. The fight included a 10lb rehydration clause. Davis defeated Garcia by knockout in the seventh round after a body punch resulted in Garcia failing to beat the count. Ryan waited for the referee to finish the count and then immediately got up. Resulting in boxing media labeling him as a quitter. Earlier in the fight Davis had knocked Garcia down with a heavy left punch in round 2 after Garcia had started the round in an aggressive manner. Davis was comfortably ahead on all 3 judges scorecards with the scores 59–55 (twice) and 58–56 ahead of the stoppage.

2nd return to lightweight

On November 29, 2023, WBA (Super) lightweight champion

Devin Haney Devin Miles Haney ( ; born November 17, 1998) is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the undisputed championship at lightweight from 2022 to 2023, and the World Boxing Counci ...

relinquished his title to move up to the super lightweight division to face WBC champion

Regis Prograis Regis Prograis ( ; born January 24, 1989) is an American professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) super lightweight title in 2019, and the World Boxing Council (WBC) super lightweight title from 2022 to 2023. Prograis chos ...

. With Haney vacating his status as WBA (Super) lightweight champion, Davis was elevated to primary WBA lightweight champion.

Davis vs. Martin

Davis defended his WBA lightweight title against Frank Martin on June 15, 2024 at

in Las Vegas. Both fighters were coming into fight after a one year layoff. Nonetheless Davis won the fight and retained his title by 8th round knockout.

Davis vs. Roach

Davis was scheduled to defend his WBA lightweight title against Lamont Roach Jr. at Toyota Center in Houston, TX on December 14, 2024. In October 2024, it was reported that the fight was postponed. On November 13, 2024 it was reported that the fight was "targeted" for March 1, 2025. On November 29, 2024, the bout between Davis and Roach was confirmed to take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY on March 1, 2025. Davis would retain his WBA lightweight title in a majority draw (115–113 Davis, 114–114, and 114–114), the first of his professional career. The decision was met with significant controversy, particularly due to a moment in the 9th round in which Davis suddenly took a knee following a quick jab from Roach. Davis then walked to his corner, motioned toward his left eye, and was wiped with a towel. Referee Steve Willis incorrectly did not call it a knockdown against Davis. Had the knockdown been correctly called, Roach would have won via unanimous decision and resulted in the first loss of Davis' career. Nevertheless, Roach was only the third fighter to go the distance with Davis, after Germán Meraz and Isaac Cruz. In the post-fight interview, Davis stated "I just got my hair done two days ago, and she put grease in it. ..When you’re sweating and things like that, the grease came into my face and burned my eyes." He then later expressed interest in rematching Roach. On March 4, 2025, it was reported that Roach's camp filed an appeal to the

NYSAC The New York State Athletic Commission or NYSAC, also known as the New York Athletic Commission, is a division of the New York State Department of State which regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New York, ...

to overturn the draw. 3 days later, the NYSAC stated that although Roach should have been credited with a knockdown against Davis, they opted not to overturn the result, claiming that "the referee's call was not outcome-determinative". According to Dan Rafael, the PPV generated around 262,000 buys, grossing $21 million in revenue. The attendance was reported to be a record 19,250 for the Barclays Center. It was later reported the event sold 16,420 tickets with 766 comps, generating a $6,415,815 gate. The attendance was 2,064 lower than what was originally announced by PBC.

Davis vs. Roach II

On April 3, ESPN reported a rematch was being planned for June 21 between Davis and Roach with

being the potential venue. Sources claimed the fight would instead take place at the end of Summer. In May, Brunch Boxing’s Matthew “Bellini” Brown revealed the fight would take place on August 16 in Las Vegas.

Personal life

On August 21, 2021, Davis was on board a Gulfstream 4 that suffered a nosewheel collapse and subsequently skidded off the runway at

Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport is a general aviation airport located within the city limits of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Fort Lauderdale, in Broward County, Florida, Broward County, Florida, United States, north of downtown Fort Lauderdal ...

. He and the thirteen others on board sustained no injuries. On December 24, 2023, Davis

converted to Islam Reversion to Islam, also known within Islam as reversion, is adopting Islam as a religion or faith. Conversion requires a formal statement of the '' shahādah'', the credo of Islam, whereby the prospective convert must state that "there is none w ...

and adopted the Muslim name Abdul Wahid. He has three children: his first daughter with ex-girlfriend Andretta Smothers, and his second daughter and first son from his relationship with Vanessa Posso.

Legal issues

On September 19, 2017, an arrest warrant was issued for Davis, who was being accused of first-degree aggravated assault. According to Maryland court records, the alleged incident took place on August 1, 2017, but did not indicate who was involved or what happened. An amount of $100,000 unsecured bond was posted for Davis' release. Davis was due to appear in court on October 19. The charge was later changed to misdemeanor second-degree assault, which carries a maximum potential sentence of 10 years or a fine of $2,500 or both. At the court, Anthony Wheeler, a childhood friend, complained that Davis punched him on the side of the head with a "gloved fist". He then stated he was diagnosed with a concussion at the hospital. The incident took place at the Upton Boxing Center in West Baltimore. It was said that Davis would stand trial on November 29, 2017. On that day, the charges were dropped by Wheeler. ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

'' stated that Davis and Wheeler both embraced and walked out of the courtroom together. On September 14, 2018, Davis was arrested in Washington, D.C. According to a police report, he and another man started a fist fight. Punches were being landed around the upper body. It was said that someone had tried to break up the fight and both men tried to flee before the police arrived. On February 1, 2020, Davis was arrested on charges of simple battery/domestic violence against his former girlfriend. The incident occurred at the

Watsco Center The Watsco Center (originally named the University of Miami Convocation Center) is an 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The venue hosts concerts, family shows, trade shows, lecture se ...

at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

during a basketball game where he was seen grabbing the woman's shirt "with his right hand close to her throat" and dragged her to a separate room. On March 22, 2021, he was indicted on fourteen counts for allegedly causing a serious car crash after running a red light after a November 2020 birthday party in downtown Baltimore. His

Lamborghini Urus The Lamborghini Urus is a high performance Luxury car#Luxury SUV / crossover, luxury SUV manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini. It was introduced in December 2017 as a 2018 model year production vehicle. The Urus is the fi ...

struck another car and left it smoking, sending its four occupants to the hospital, including a pregnant woman. He allegedly left the scene in a

Camaro The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro sha ...

that pulled up minutes later. On February 16, Davis accepted a plea deal that saw him plead guilty to leaving the scene of an accident involving bodily injury, failing to notify an owner of property damage, driving on a suspended license and running a red light. He was sentenced on May 5, 2023, to 90 days house arrest and 3 years probation . On June 1, 2023, Davis was taken into custody for violating the terms of his home detention, and sentenced to serve the remainder of his sentence in jail. 44 days later, on July 14, 2023, Davis completed the confinement portion of his sentence and was released from a Baltimore jail. On December 27, 2022, days before he was due to fight Héctor García, Davis was arrested and jailed in Florida on a charge of battery domestic violence. In the audio from 911 calls, a woman was heard begging police for help and saying "he's going to kill me." Police observed an abrasion on the inside of the woman's lip, with Davis accused of striking her with a "closed hand type slap." The woman eventually recanted her accusation, and the Héctor García bout pushed through.

Professional boxing record

Titles in boxing

Major world titles

* WBA (Super) super featherweight champion (130 lbs) (2×) *

IBF super featherweight champion This is a list of Super featherweight boxing champions, as recognized by boxing organizations: * The World Boxing Association (WBA), established in 1921 as the National Boxing Association (NBA). * The World Boxing Council (WBC), established in 19 ...

(130 lbs) * WBA lightweight champion (135 lbs)

Secondary major world titles

* WBA (Regular) lightweight champion (135 lbs) * WBA (Regular) light welterweight champion (140 lbs)

Pay-per-view bouts

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

*
Gervonta Davis profile
at '' Premier Boxing Champions''
Gervonta Davis – Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings
a
Box.Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Gervonta 1994 births Living people Boxers from Baltimore National Golden Gloves champions Southpaw boxers American male boxers African-American boxers World super-featherweight boxing champions World lightweight boxing champions International Boxing Federation champions World Boxing Association champions World light-welterweight boxing champions Converts to Islam American Muslims 21st-century American sportsmen