Ultimately, though he sure left his mark on the sport, Naseem Hamed fell some way short of his goal of becoming an “absolute legend.” Hamed, blessed with chilling punching power, “The Prince” arguably having the most lethal hands in featherweight history, left the sport at a young age, this after losing the biggest fight of his career., against Marco Antonio Barrera. But Hamed, whatever you think of him and his place in history, added some genuine electricity to the sport with his many KO’s.
Now, Naz fan and former cruiserweight champ Tony Bellew has gone on record as stating how, in his opinion, Gervonta Davis is the “biggest puncher in the lighter divisions since Hamed.”
Ahead of Tank’s huge fight with the also unbeaten Ryan Garcia (a fighter who some have said is blessed with the fastest hands in the lighter divisions since the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard and Roy Jones), Bellew has spoken about how excited he is by Davis.
“I love Gervonta Davis, I think he’s a monster,” Bellew said when speaking with Boxing Social. “I think he’s the biggest punching fighter in the lower weight divisions since Naseem Hamed. I have not seen a fighter with that type of power since Hamed. That boy takes people out – he’s a killer.”
One only needs to watch the destructive job Tank did on Mexican warrior Leo Santa Cruz to see that, for sure, he punches very hard. But harder or as hard as Hamed? That’s down to debate, and of course opinion, Bellew merely expressing his on the subject. Bottom line, though: fans love a puncher. Tank is a puncher.
But does Davis’ power beat Garcia’s astonishing hand speed? Bellew thinks so.
“Garcia is lightning quick, but I’m not sure his IQ is the best,” Bellew said. “I’m not sure his boxing brain is as good as it should be. When you’ve got that kind of speed, you don’t need to trade with anyone.”
So, will Garcia, 23-0(19) trade with Tank, 28-0(26) on April 22? Both men have predicted a KO win, a quick one in the case of Garcia. Which young star will leave us with a Naseem Hamed-style knockout in Las Vegas?
It seems most fans agree on one thing: this fight will NOT go the distance.