We Have a Gervonta Davis Problem…
By Eddie Sanchez
On Friday, February 24, 2023, Gervonta Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) and Ryan Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs) made their dance official! A mega fight between the two stars will take place on April 22! This is fantastic news for the sport. Both men are jumbo stars in the sport, and with each carrying a loyal following that is expected to tune into the bout, large sums of money will be earned.
So what is the issue?
On February 16, Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis plead guilty to a hit and run case that left four individuals injured, including a pregnant woman. He is facing up to seven years in prison against 14 counts, and has sentencing due for Cinco de Mayo, 2023.
Davis pleaded guilty to four traffic offenses, as he left the scene of an accident involving bodily injury, ‘failing to notify of property damage, driving with a revoked license and running a red light.’ Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Althea M. Handy advised him that his gulty plea is completed with no agreement of what his penalty will be at sentencing.
The accident occurred in 2020, following a night out at the club. Strangely, Davis was driving his Lamborghini under police escort until he veered from his caravan, ran a red light, and struck a pedestrian.
This harmful act, is not too uncommon for the young man. That same year, he was charged with battery of his ex-girlfriend. According to reports, during a basketball game, he allegedly dragged his ex-girlfriend near her throat to an out of sight location from the crowd.
Davis’ violent streak continued in December 2022, as he was arrested on domestic violence charges, though these were later walked back. With the latest DV charge out of sight and out of mind, and a pending sentencing for his hit and run incident a mere months away, new violent charges have emerged.
On the same day of this fight’s announcement, Gervonta Davis has been hit with a lawsuit alleging he struck a man in the chest during a Mach, 2022 incident in a New York City parking garage. The incident occurred following a dispute with a parking garage attendant. After a heated discussion surrounding his car not being delivered to him in what he deemed a timely manner, a second attendant, who was unaware of the interaction, was struck by Davis as he attempted to help the troubled boxer.
With a criminal case pending sentencing, and an additional civil case brought to light, the industry is left wondering what will become of the talented boxer’s career and livelihood.
Despite the vast amount of legal trouble surrounding Gervonta Davis, he has officially secured a date for the most high-profile fight in his career. Of the confirmed bouts for the year, this is surely the most significant from a promotional standpoint, which is rather disappointing when you consider 1) the other rumored fights and 2) the fact that Gervonta Davis is in no position to be fighting right now.
While strange, there is precedent for this type of scheduling. Floyd Mayweather, who famously promoted Gervonta Davis until they split ways at the end of 2022, fought the great Miguel Cotto in a 2012 bout that was less than a month away from his prison booking. Mayweather spent 60 days in jail for a domestic violence charge. The state of Nevada even moved his booking to accommodate the fight because of the expected revenue this would bring to the state.
While not nearly the same circumstance, given where Gervonta Davis stands in his legal proceedings, it’s not surprising that despite the distractions (to put it absolutely lightly), he will continue with his career until told otherwise.
Given that we are two months away from this fight, it will be interesting to see if the coverage of this event will include appropriate commentary regarding his legal troubles. It will also be interesting to see if this impacts viewership in anyway. Given the culture surrounding sports in North America, I wouldn’t bet on it.
