Showtime’s Stephen Espinoza says the altercation between Golden Boy executive Bernard Hopkins and Gervonta Davis was a result of Tank not being happy with Bernard putting hands on him during Friday’s weigh-in for the Ryan Garcia fight.
According to Espinoza, there are different versions of what took place on the stage. Hopkins says he was trying to prevent Gervonta from falling off the stage.
Whatever the case, Ryan (23-0, 19 KOs) was the one that ended up getting shoved hard by Tank following his argument with Bernard.
This wasn’t the first weigh-in where Tank Davis shoved one of his opponents. We saw him shove Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero off the stage last year. Now, Tank did it again, and that’s something that needs to be addressed.
“It was hard to see with all the chaos up there. There was something involving Bernard [Hopkins]. It depends on who’s version,” said Stephen Espinoza to Fight Hub TV about the altercation between Bernard Hopkins and Gervonta Davis on the stage at the weigh-in.
“Tank wasn’t happy with Bernard putting his hands on him, and in Bernard’s version, he was just trying to keep Tank from getting pushed off the stage and guiding him one way,” Espinoza continued.
“I have to see the footage, a better view of it. If Bernard is putting his hands on a fighter or addressing a fighter, obviously, that’s unacceptable. His role is the promoter. If that’s what happened, and I’m not saying it is what happened, then it’s absolutely unacceptable.
“I heard about that after the fact. I don’t think there’s anything personal with Bernard. The reality is everyone has one representative. There’s not multiple Showtime representatives. There’s not multiple TGB representatives. There’s not multiple Golden Boy executives, except there are,” said Espinoza when told that Hopkins had said that PBC didn’t want him on the stage or taking part in the press conference.
“The reality is if everybody is going to have two or three representatives, we’re going to have more tables, and it’s just unacceptable. So the reality is, it had nothing to do with Bernard. Oscar is the head of the company. He was the designated representative, and Bernard decided he wanted to go up on stage, which is okay.
“This is the point of the promotion where everybody is sick of everybody. I mean that respectfully, but the people that are most closely involved in the camps. Everybody is on edge, the tensions are high, the stakes are high, and everything is under a microscope. So people get testy, and nerves are frayed.
“I didn’t think it would get physical, but all it takes is a little spark here or there. Obviously, that wasn’t a big deal. It could have been a lot worse, but it’s par for the course. I’m not saying it’s appropriate or should be excused. It isn’t, but people are kind of testy at this point, and understandably.
“You got two huge fanbases and two huge enthusiastic supporters, and it’s a 50-50 fight. When Canelo fights, it’s tough for him to find challenges sometimes. In some of his fights, he comes out here, and he’s such a popular fighter, and the crowd is behind him.
“Here we had a ton of people for Tank and a ton of people for Ryan and a lot of electricity on both sides. That sort of amps up the adrenalin, the energy,” said Espinoza.
