Gary Russell Jr. vs. Gervonta Davis - Could happen

[Ruthless-RKO]

Russell: Gervonta Hasn't Fought Nobody; Couldn't Deal With Me!

If the WBC featherweight champion can’t entice a seemingly reluctant Santa Cruz into a 126-pound title unification fight later this year, Russell has an intriguing alternative in mind. Russell told BS.com that he happily would move up four pounds to face Gervonta Davis in what would be a big fight in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. area.

As sure as Russell is about beating the undefeated Davis, he is as unsure Davis’ promoter, Floyd Mayweather, would allow Davis to fight him. Mayweather and Leonard Ellerbe, his promotional company’s CEO, already have made it clear Davis won’t face WBA/WBO lightweight champ Vasiliy Lomachenko anytime soon.

The 30-year-old Russell (29-1, 17 KOs), who has lost only to Lomachenko (13-1, 10 KOs), hopes Mayweather and Ellerbe don’t take the same approach to him.

“It’s very possible that they wouldn’t fight me,” Russell said. “But it’s definitely a possibility. The question is, will Floyd and them actually be willing to put him in the ring with me?”
——
Russell, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, even went as far as to use Mayweather’s mantra in describing a potential fight versus Davis.

“As far as the fight is concerned, easy work,” Russell said. “He hasn’t fought nobody. Who has Gervonta fought? He fought a whole lot of nobodies, people that, as soon as he hit ‘em, they fall. He hasn’t fought anybody that gave him any type of opposition at all. You know, fights are won off of intellect, not just off of being strong. I tell people, boxing is intellect manifested on the physical form. In most cases, the more educated person should win – not the strongest, not the biggest, not the tallest – the smartest person should win. There’s no way in hell that Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis has the intellect, the hand speed or even the ring generalship to deal with me. After about three, four rounds, he’ll be lost. He wouldn’t know what to do.”

His opinion of how their fight would unfold notwithstanding, Russell respects that Davis at least has been able to win world titles within the 130-pound division twice. Davis was a blossoming amateur when Russell launched his pro career 10 years ago and Russell has tracked Davis’ progress closely.

“I personally know Gervonta,” Russell said. “I know him as a younger, up-and-coming fighter. You know, when I was already competing in the Olympics and all of that stuff, he was still amateur. You know, he would come to the tournaments and stuff like that. One, I’m just glad that he’s in this position because he’s stayed consistent enough. A lot of these people in the sport of boxing, they tend to fall off before they reach the pinnacle of where they could actually go.

“I’m just glad that he was consistent enough to continue to grind and stay on the path that he was on when he was a little kid. Now he’s grown up, he became a world champion and now he put himself in a position to provide for his family, his friends and his loved ones. I think that’s cool in itself. That’s all I can ask for from the people who’s in my ethnic group, to be able to provide for their families the way that they would want to.”

Russell just disagrees with how Mayweather has handled Davis’ development. The skillful southpaw was particularly bothered by Mayweather’s admission that Davis won’t fight Lomachenko, who since has moved up to the lightweight division.

“That’s some sucker-ass sh*t,” Russell said. “If you want me to be candid, how could you possibly be a champion, but you ducking anybody? That don’t make sense to me. That’s not the attitude of a champion. So, his team has already came to an agreement that, ‘Ok, well, this guy might be too much for him.’ Or, ‘We don’t wanna take this fight at this time.’ That doesn’t make sense to me. I remember when they first asked him about Lomachenko, he was a world champion at the time, and he stated himself, ‘I don’t think I’m ready for that, as of yet.’

“How much more ready do you need to be? You’re a world champion. That doesn’t make sense to me. That shows me something in your character. In your character, it’s a kink in your armor. That’s a sign of weakness to me. To Mr. Gary Russell Jr., that’s something that’d be exploited in that square. I would exploit that. So, if Floyd and Leonard want to send Gervonta out there, then I would welcome it with open arms.”

Russell is convinced Davis will continue fighting unimposing opponents for the foreseeable future.

“You’ve gotta understand, this is how these promoters and managers are making their money off of these fighters,” Russell said. “As soon as these fighters take a loss, they don’t have that ability to generate the revenue off that individual no more. These are walking cattle to some of these promoters and managers. They don’t look at these fighters like people.

“So, you know, if they wanna continue to feed ‘Tank’ these low-quality fights, with people that’s really gonna give him no competition at all, I mean, that’s good because he can build his fan base up. He’s running through these guys, he’s running them over and everything else. But what happens when he competes against someone that’s gonna try, just attempt to try?”

[Bard of Boxrec]

Wow, that’s a lot of talk for someone who isn’t keen on fighting himself.

[SenorPipino]

Wow, that’s a lot of talk for someone who isn’t keen on fighting himself.

I thought exactly the same.

Russell seems so eager to fight even if his track record of 1 fight annually suggests otherwise.

Russell has his yearly fight coming up so maybe he's just looking to help promote it by throwing out Davis' name.

[Cent0089]

Too much talk, no serious fights, just another day in boxing

[Ruthless-RKO]

Wow, that’s a lot of talk for someone who isn’t keen on fighting himself.

Yeh. He’s probably spent more time talking here than he has fought in the past 3 years.

[pizzakid13]

Fraud

[oogiebe]

Tank takes this.

[victor-romeo]

I picked Russell.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Ellerbe Would 'Love' To Make Gervonta Davis-Gary Russell Fight

Leonard Ellerbe enjoyed reading Gary Russell Jr.’s comments about boxing Gervonta Davis.

The Mayweather Promotions CEO respects Russell’s confidence, capabilities and pedigree. Ellerbe also is certain that Davis would beat the highly skilled southpaw if the fight Russell suggested comes to fruition.

Russell told BS.com last week that if he can’t land a fight against Leo Santa Cruz that thus far has eluded him, he wants to move up from featherweight to junior lightweight to challenge Davis (https://www.BS.com/russell-ger ... me--138376). Russell-Davis would be a big event in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C., area and is one of the most appealing options for both boxers.

“I think he’s an exceptionally talented fighter,” Ellerbe told BS.com regarding Russell. “I have a great deal of respect for him, his pops, all his brothers. They’re from the city [of Baltimore]. They can bump. [Russell is] very confident and he should be. But it’s a whole different ballgame, when you’re talking about fighting ‘Tank.’ I asked about that fight before, because ‘Tank’ asked me about that fight. ‘Tank’ wants that fight. I’m very, very confident that ‘Tank’ beats him. I wouldn’t think twice about it.”

Assuming he overcomes Martinez, the 30-year-old Russell, of Capital Heights, Maryland, intends to pursue a featherweight title unification fight against Santa Cruz (36-1-1, 19 KOs), who holds the WBA title. If that bout doesn’t come together, Russell is more than willing to move up four pounds to face Davis.

“I think he’s serious,” Ellerbe said. “He’s very confident. He’s an extremely talented, young fighter, who has great belief in his skill set. That’s why you make great fights like that. But I’m very, very confident in ‘Tank.’ ”

Ellerbe expressed that he, too, is serious about matching Davis against Russell, who would be, by far, the best opponent of Davis’ six-year pro career.

“Oh, most definitely,” Ellerbe said. “I would love, love, love, love, love that fight.”

[Ruthless-RKO]

Mayweather: Russell Solid Opponent For Tank, But He's Not At 130

Floyd Mayweather and Gervonta Davis didn’t sound all that interested Saturday night in fighting Gary Russell Jr. anytime soon.

When he was asked about Russell as a potential opponent during a post-fight press conference, Davis responded, “No, I don’t think so.” A Davis-Russell fight would do big business in Baltimore, where a sellout crowd of 14,686 attended Davis’ second-round technical knockout of Ricardo Nunez on Saturday night at Royal Farms Arena.

The 24-year-old Davis proved he is a huge draw in his hometown. The 31-year-old Russell is from nearby Capitol Heights, Maryland.

Mayweather seemed to dismiss Russell as a future foe for Davis because they’re not currently in the same weight class. Russell has long competed at featherweight, four pounds below the division in which Davis holds a WBA title.

“Gary Russell is a solid opponent,” Mayweather said. “I don’t think Gary Russell is fighting at 130 at this particular time. So, you know, when Gary Russell comes up to 130 and makes some noise, if Tank hasn’t moved up to 135 then anything is possible down the line. But as of right now, we’re looking forward to a unification bout, maybe even Tank versus [Yuriorkis] Gamboa. But right now, we want the Tevin Farmer [fight]. … We’ll make a unification bout because the belt that Tevin Farmer has, actually Tank really still is the IBF champion and the WBA champion. So, if we gotta go take the belt twice, that’s what we’ll do.”

Davis was stripped of the IBF junior lightweight title Farmer later won for failing to make weight for his eighth-round knockout of Francisco Fonseca in August 2017.

Russell (30-1, 18 KOs), who holds the WBC featherweight title, told BS.com before his last fight that he would welcome an all-Maryland showdown with Davis next. The 2008 U.S. Olympian was critical of Davis’ level of opposition, a common complaint among fans who want to see how the hard-hitting Davis (22-0, 21 KOs) would fare against someone as good as Russell or one of the other 130-pound champions.

“As far as the fight is concerned, easy work,” Russell said. “He hasn’t fought nobody. Who has Gervonta fought? He fought a whole lot of nobodies, people that, as soon as he hit ‘em, they fall. He hasn’t fought anybody that gave him any type of opposition at all. You know, fights are won off of intellect, not just off of being strong. I tell people, boxing is intellect manifested on the physical form. In most cases, the more educated person should win – not the strongest, not the biggest, not the tallest – the smartest person should win. There’s no way in hell that Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis has the intellect, the hand speed or even the ring generalship to deal with me. After about three, four rounds, he’ll be lost. He wouldn’t know what to do.”

Russell is more likely to remain at featherweight to pursue fights against Abner Mares (31-3-1, 15 KOs) or WBA featherweight champ Leo Santa Cruz (36-1-1, 19 KOs), who also has expressed interest in moving up to face Davis. The skillful southpaw would welcome the Davis fight if Mayweather and his emerging star change their minds.

“If they wanna continue to feed ‘Tank’ these low-quality fights,” Russell said, “with people that’s really gonna give him no competition at all, I mean, that’s good because he can build his fan base up. He’s running through these guys, he’s running them over and everything else. But what happens when he competes against someone that’s gonna try, just attempt to try?”

[Nondescript]

That would be an awesome fight if it could actually be made.

[IKSRTFO]

I get the sense that Davis people know something about him that they won't allow him to challenge himself.

[margaret thatcher]

I get the sense that Davis people know something about him that they won't allow him to challenge himself.

Could be. Looking at it from the outside, I just dont get it though. To me Tank does look legit, and absolutely battering and stopping Pedraza shows a high level way above the crap hes been fighting.

[ironbeard]

GTank v Russell Jr as a “co-main” on an FMJ v Manny circus act?

GTank stops TRex Jr.

[IKSRTFO]

I get the sense that Davis people know something about him that they won't allow him to challenge himself.

Could be. Looking at it from the outside, I just dont get it though. To me Tank does look legit, and absolutely battering and stopping Pedraza shows a high level way above the crap hes been fighting.

He does look legit. I understand wanting the fighter to grow, but it's not like Tank has been fighting different styles to grow in experience. They've all been come forward no hopers.

[Impractical Poster]

Tank scared of trex.

I hear all this garbage about pro fighters not being scared at the pro level. Tell that to most of Mike Tyson's opponents of the late 80's and mid 90's.

Tank and his team know that he is not good enough or focused enough to hang with the elites.

[victor-romeo]

Russell beats Tank in my opinion..Doubt they ever fight until Tank has distinct advantage due to age or whatever..

[IKSRTFO]

Tank scared of trex.

I hear all this garbage about pro fighters not being scared at the pro level. Tell that to most of Mike Tyson's opponents of the late 80's and mid 90's.

Tank and his team know that he is not good enough or focused enough to hang with the elites.

I'm not sure he's scared at all of anyone, not even Loma. I think it's his handlers/promoters, who believe he isn't as good as advertised.

[Evander]

Gary doesn't fight enough, that said it's a mouthwatering bout I'd love to see it.
Russell is a superb boxer, Tank would have his hands full going up against him.

[Onetimeonly]

Wow, that’s a lot of talk for someone who isn’t keen on fighting himself.

This is his talk time of the season. Then in late March they'll announce his unknown annual may opponent.

[Evander]

I get where Russell is coming from.
Make coin be healthy and have as little physical and mental risk as possible.
He's got kids and a family and just wants to make his money and leave, it's understandable.
Then why are we talking about him ?
I talk about him because he's hard core and principled I like that about Gary, same time you know the sport and how it works.
The inactivity has worn thin and as a fan unless he makes a big move then what are we doing here ?

[ironbeard]

I get where Russell is coming from.
Make coin be healthy and have as little physical and mental risk as possible.
He's got kids and a family and just wants to make his money and leave, it's understandable.
Then why are we talking about him ?
I talk about him because he's hard core and principled I like that about Gary, same time you know the sport and how it works.
The inactivity has worn thin and as a fan unless he makes a big move then what are we doing here ?

X2

TRex Jr found his ceiling v Lomassiah. He has been essentially treading water since, when he gets in the pool at all. He is 31 years old and his skills and gift set are beginning to decline due to both age and inactivity.

I congratulate him on his success at providing for his family for all these years while limiting his physical risk. However, you cannot spend your career fighting no hopers once a year and expect to be taken as seriously as those who perform regularly and take the risks necessary to build a legacy.

[Ruthless-RKO]

I congratulate him on his success at providing for his family for all these years while limiting his physical risk. However, you cannot spend your career fighting no hopers once a year and expect to be taken as seriously as those who perform regularly and take the risks necessary to build a legacy.

He ain't ever gonna go be inducted in the IBHoF..

[JMac]

Tank just sold out Royal Farms arena in Baltimore that holds 14K. Russell because of his inactivity had a hard time getting 3,000 into the MGM close to his home. I would love to see the fight but I don't think Tank goes to DC and Gary probably wouldn't go to Baltimore though the 2 cities are like 30 miles apart. In DC you have the Capital One arena where the Wizards play that holds around 18K. If Tank would fight there, you add Hurd to the card and Dusty Harrison 33-0-1 another local popular fighter and some Baltimore guys like Truck Simpson and Malik Hawkins you could fill the place up. Too bad fight cards like this don't happen anymore like they used to have in Philly back in the 70's.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Tank just sold out Royal Farms arena in Baltimore that holds 14K. Russell because of his inactivity had a hard time getting 3,000 into the MGM close to his home. I would love to see the fight but I don't think Tank goes to DC and Gary probably wouldn't go to Baltimore though the 2 cities are like 30 miles apart. In DC you have the Capital One arena where the Wizards play that holds around 18K. If Tank would fight there, you add Hurd to the card and Dusty Harrison 33-0-1 another local popular fighter and some Baltimore guys like Truck Simpson and Malik Hawkins you could fill the place up. Too bad fight cards like this don't happen anymore like they used to have in Philly back in the 70's.

Sounds like quite a plan.