By Cliff Rold

24-year old Gervonta Davis (21-0, 20 KO) has lights out power, personality, and this weekend has a chance to start to entrench a local fan base as he makes his first start in his hometown, Baltimore, since his fourth professional fight. The two-time titlist at 130 lbs. (whose two reigns are separated only by his missing weight and losing the IBF belt in August 2017) also has a promotional deal with one of the biggest names in boxing, Floyd Mayweather.

All the pieces are in place to begin to build towards real stardom.

The only thing missing so far is in who is standing across the ring.

Davis already has some solid names on his resume to be sure. Three of his last five opponents were undefeated; Jose Pedraza, whom he defeated for his first title, went on to win a title at lightweight after Davis stopped him for the IBF crown in 2017. Davis’s isn’t the strongest resume in boxing, and it would be hard to argue it’s even the strongest in the division.

But that doesn’t make it bad relative to where Davis is in his career. This weekend (Showtime, 9 PM EST), he’ll get some more rounds but probably won’t get much resistance from 25-year old Panamanian Ricardo Nunez (21-2, 19 KO). Nunes has been stopped only once, in 2015, and has won ten in a row.

He’s not the opponent for Davis’s homecoming because he’s expected to make it eleven. 

Given Davis’s age and relatively few fights, it’s really a little early for that to be too big a concern. Resumes come with time and Davis has time on his side. Resumes are where we record the rivals of the best fighters in the world.

Over time, one can expect Davis to find his rivals.

The question here: are they already in his division or will he have to look a little high and low?

gervonta-davis (7)_7

As noted in this space before, the best value for boxing fans right now in this multi-platform world is to find where the clusters are. When one corner of the boxing world has a sizable piece of a class, fans should demand they put their best foot forward.

We’re seeing it play out in 2019. After an inconsistent year, ESPN/Top Rank announced a light heavyweight unification match for later this year. DAZN has tournaments at bantamweight, Jr. welterweight, cruiserweight, and a big chunk of the middleweight division and is delivering in all those classes. PBC is having a strong year at welterweight and Jr. middleweight.

Davis is in one of the divisions where no one really has anything cornered. Miguel Berchelt and Jamel Herring have titles and are fighting on ESPN but only Herring seems publically interested in the moment in fighting. Tevin Farmer has been appearing on DAZN.

It leaves no clear path for unification right now for anyone. Davis and Farmer have famously traded barbs in casino lobbies and on Twitter for some time now. None of this has led to an opening bell.

Maybe that can change before 2019 is over.

If it does, the career of Davis can begin to take a new shape. Even with a belt, he’s still more what could be than what is.

But what could be?

Farmer (29-4-1, 6 KO) is sort of the antithesis of Davis in terms of style and development. The 28-year old developed to little fanfare and doesn’t seem to carry much finishing power. He talks as big a game as Davis but his talk carries a different promise about what will play out in the ring.

If nothing else, a Davis-Famer fight would likely be as much about the press conference and antics on the way to the fight as the battle itself. When a fighter is looking to become a star, that’s not a bad thing.

If it’s not Farmer, a pair of PBC fighters rising in weight could play the sort of rival that allows Davis to move to the next level of his career or get moved out of the way. WBA featherweight titlist Leo Santa Cruz made some noise about a fight in media last week, and earlier this year, and the three-division titlist would be an interesting foe. He’s taller, has longer reach, and moves his hands in volume.

Santa Cruz might not be able to handle the younger, naturally larger man but it would be fun to watch him try. Santa Cruz has the sort of name value, and career accomplishment, to be a serious rival and one fans could point to as an early validating win if Davis got past him.

Ticket sales for Saturday could say something about what might be the most interesting option.

In a more logical boxing world, PBC stablemates Santa Cruz and WBC titlist Gary Russell would have already fought, or at least be signed for, a unification battle. It hasn’t happened yet. Maybe it won’t. Russell hasn’t fought more than once a year in, well, years so this idea might have to wait until next spring but…

The MGM Grand right outside Washington, DC hosted two of Russell’s last three fights and he calls the area home. Washington, DC versus Baltimore, Maryland in a big fight could be a big deal in the Mid-Atlantic. If Davis draws reasonably well Saturday, it’s an idea worth exploring; a crowning of the king of the DMV if you will.

Boxing could do worse than a world-class regional rivalry and Davis could do with his first major rival soon.   

Cliff’s Notes…

My heart goes out to the family and friends of Maksim Dadashev; such horrible news this week. There is at least one Go Fund Me account that appears to be collecting for Dadashev’s widow at the moment for fans that are looking for a way to help. 

Cliff Rod is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com