WBA Puts Gervonta Davis in Recess, Signals Shift at Lightweight

Gervonta “Tank” Davis has more pressing issues to deal with outside the ring than anything connected to his championship status. Even so, the WBA is moving ahead with plans to keep its lightweight division from stalling.

The sanctioning body has designated Davis as its “champion in recess” at 135 pounds, a decision tied to his ongoing legal problems. The move followed the execution of an arrest warrant by Miami Gardens police related to an alleged incident from October. With that ruling, Davis is no longer recognized as the WBA’s active lightweight champion.

The WBA executive committee is expected to decide in the near future whether to authorize a vacant lightweight title fight. The intent is to allow the division to move forward while Davis’ situation remains unresolved.

WBA president Gilberto Jesus Mendoza confirmed the downgrade, which effectively brings to an end Davis’ tenure as the organization’s primary lightweight titleholder. Davis first held a secondary version of the WBA belt beginning in December 2019 before being elevated to full champion in early 2024.

Davis is currently being sought by Miami Gardens police as part of an investigation involving multiple law enforcement agencies. He faces charges that include battery, false imprisonment, and attempted kidnapping, stemming from allegations involving his former partner at her workplace on October 27. A civil lawsuit related to the same incident was filed shortly afterward.

Those developments already disrupted Davis’ boxing plans. He was removed from a scheduled crossover bout with Jake Paul that had been set for November 14 at the Kaseya Center in Miami. Netflix and Most Valuable Promotions canceled the event following the lawsuit. Paul later fought Anthony Joshua at the same venue in December, losing by sixth-round knockout.

Now 31 and living in South Florida, Davis has not competed since a March 1 majority draw with Lamont Roach Jnr in Brooklyn. Even before the proposed fight with Paul fell apart, there were growing calls for the WBA to strip Davis of the title due to inactivity. A planned rematch with Roach last summer was abandoned after further legal trouble surfaced, leading Premier Boxing Champions to cancel an August 16 pay-per-view event in Las Vegas.

If the WBA moves ahead with a vacant title bout, Floyd Schofield and Lucas Bahdi are the top two contenders available. Schofield is promoted by Golden Boy, while Bahdi is signed with MVP. Both sides have indicated interest in fighting for the belt.

Mendoza has stated that Davis will be given an opportunity to present his case as the legal process continues. Until then, the WBA appears prepared to carry on without him, reflecting how little Davis has actually been present in the ring in recent years.