As fans may have seen, Gervonta Davis and Mario Barrios recently came face-to-face at the presser to officially announce their June 26th fight – and it was instantly apparent how much bigger Barrios is than Davis.
“Tank” surprised quite a few people by taking this fight, yet the unbeaten 26-year-old southpaw who has already won titles at super-featherweight and lightweight, and will be going for Barrios’ WBA 140 pound belt next month, said he “wants to be great.”
This is the reason, Davis says, for taking this potentially risky move. Barrios, also unbeaten, at 26-0(17), is also in his prime or thereabouts at age 26.
Barrios will be making the second defense of his belt against Davis. However, despite being the naturally bigger man, it will be Barrios who will be sharing the ring with the best opponent of his career on June 26.
Aside from the height and reach disadvantages he will have to overcome (Davis standing a little over 5’5” and has a 68-inch reach, Barrios standing 5’10” and has a 71-inch reach), Davis may not have any other real problems.
Still, this fight is something of a gamble on the part of Davis, 24-0(23). Davis says he took this fight because all the other big names at 135 pound were busy with other fights. So will Davis’ move up to 140 be a one-fight deal, for now at least, with “Tank” looking to then drop back down to face the likes of Teofimo Lopez, Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney? Or will Davis opt to stay at 140 if he gets the win next month?
Davis did say that he thinks he’s going to be “at my best at 140 pounds,” that he isn’t at all worried about losing any of his tremendous speed by fighting at 140.
So who knows, maybe we won’t get those potentially great lightweight match-ups involving Davis. Barrios, though, should not be overlooked or brushed aside; the champion will be coming to win, knowing that a win over Davis would turn him into a star.
Can Davis chop the bigger guy down and can he look good doing it? Or has “Tank” bitten off more than he can chew?
If Davis does win, and looks good doing it and then does decide to stay put at 140, a fight between him and the winner of Saturday night’s Josh Taylor-Jose Ramirez fight would be something to see. I’m sure Davis will be watching tomorrow night’s fight in Vegas.