On October 3, 1998, 21-year-old Floyd Mayweather Jr. destroyed future Hall-of-Famer Genaro Hernandez to claim his first world title at 130 pounds.
This Saturday night in Brooklyn, his protege Gervonta “Tank” Davis (16-0, 15 KO’s) will seek a world title belt in that same weight class at the ripe, old age of 22. Fighting out of his hometown of Baltimore, Davis has an electric combination of hand speed and devastating power. As a southpaw fighter, those skills combined with slickness, make him an extremely intriguing young fighter.
Fighting under the promotional banner of Mayweather Promotions, Davis has drawn the eyes of the boxing community with his great potential and also from the heavy praise he has drawn from Mayweather himself. He had himself a decorated amateur career, winning the national Golden Gloves Championship in 2012. But with only 16 pro fights, many worry about his readiness in competing for a world title belt. His opponent will be, by a mile, the most talented fighter that Davis has been in with.
That opponent is IBF junior lightweight champion Jose “The Sniper” Pedraza (22-0, 12 KO’s).
Pedraza, a 27-year-old southpaw, lives up to his nickname with pinpoint precision punching and great movement. A native of Puerto Rico, Pedraza has made two defenses of his 130-lb. title belt and has given us a mixed bag of results. In defense no. 1, Pedraza struggled against wily veteran Edner Cherry (35-7-2, 19 KO’s). Pedraza went home with a split decision victory, but it was a fight that many felt that Cherry deserved to win.
Nonetheless, the champion moved on with his career. Instead of giving Cherry a rematch, “The Sniper” challenged Stephen Smith (24-3, 14 KO’s), of England’s fighting Smith family, in April 2016. Pedraza looked superb in this fight. He was accurate, elusive, and totally in control of the fight, claiming a clear unanimous decision victory.
That inconsistency in recent fights is what makes this fight so uncertain, for both the champion and challenger.
On one hand, you have a prospect, in Davis, that has totally dominated every man that has been put in front of him. On the other, you have a Pedraza, who has shown the ability to dominate and be very vulnerable in his recent performances. That is what makes this fight very intriguing.
But the x-factor is Davis’ power.
Not only does he have heavy hands, his blistering speed makes the power snappy as well. That speed also allows Davis to catch guys from odd angles, crushing them with punches that they cannot see coming. But can he hit a seasoned champion with those punches, as well?
Pedraza is a very slick fighter and counter puncher. “Tank”‘s come forward, break you down style could play right into the champion’s hands. He will surely look to land his straight left hand on the young gun’s chin, testing it like it has not been tested before. His experience at this level will surely benefit him in the late rounds, where Davis does not have the track record of going. If Pedraza can escape the earlier rounds, he can take control late in the fight.
But do not be surprised if Davis gets inside and connects on Pedraza, as Cherry did. And if Davis touches you with a clean shot to the head, then it could be lights out for the champ. This could be a changing of the guard fight, and a star-making performance for Davis. But this could also be just another day at the office for the world titleholder.
There are many people that are excited about Davis and his potential. On Saturday night, we will get to see if he can live up to the hype, and follow in his promoter’s footsteps.
