A disappointed promoter, Eddie Hearn, says Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis rejected a big offer for a mega-fight with British welterweight Conor Benn.
It’s a fight that would have given the 27-year-old unbeaten Benn (23-0, 14 KOs) a huge surge of popularity, considering Tank Davis is a worldwide star, not just a locally known fighter like the ones that Hearn has shown interest in matching Conor against.
David Not Interested
Hearn told Fighthype, “It was an eight-figure base figure, with potential PPV and gate revenue pushing it towards $25 million.”
Eddie doesn’t know why Tank Davis refused the offer or if he has something else cooking. The only fighters that the 29-year-old Tank could make similar money against are Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia, but those require a lot of negotiating to get them over the line.
Tank hasn’t fought since last April when he beat Ryan by a seventh-round knockout, and he may sit inactive for an entire year, given that he has nothing scheduled.
It’s not a good idea for any fighter to sit idle for an extended time, choosing to wait for the mother load payday, if that’s what Tank is currently doing.
It’s more likely that inertia has set in with the Baltimore native due to the millions he made fighting Ryan, and that’s taken away his hunger and ambition to return to work. Gervonta could live to regret it later in life, especially if he goes broke.
Exploring the Alternatives
Hearn is now looking in another direction for Conor Benn’s next opponent, focusing on one of these names:
- Danny Garcia
- Kell Brook
- Liam Smith
- Chris Eubank Jr.
Brook, Liam, and Eubank Jr. are older local-level fighters, not world-class ones. If Benn fights any of them, it would be for UK consumption only, as those matches wouldn’t interest people outside of the UK because none of them are relevant. Brook is 37 and past it, and Eubank Jr. and Smith are 35 at the bottom fringe level.
“We love the Mario Barrios fight. Who knows if Chris Eubank Jr. wakes up? Kell Brook, Liam Smith,” said Hearn. “We’ve seen a lot of fighters call him out. In May, I believe or the latest in June, you’ll see a massive fight for Conor Benn.”
