Floyd Mayweather Jr. has hit out at Gervonta Davis’ pound-for-pound ranking.
Davis’ last fight against Ryan Garcia broke records to become the highest pay-per-view and gate-generating event of 2023, as Tank became the self-proclaimed ‘face of boxing’ with a seventh-round-stoppage win.
That took Davis’ unbeaten record to 29 wins with 27 KOs. Although that may have been the case, Davis did not make the top five of Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound rankings as Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue took the top two spots, respectively.
While Davis did get ranked as number eight, Mayweather had a few choice words to say about the reasoning for this.
“When is Gervonta Davis going to go in the pound-for-pound list? Does Naoya Inoue deserve it? Absolutely. Does Terence Crawford? Absolutely. But what about Gervonta Davis? [They don’t give him that credit] because he was affiliated with me,” Mayweather
Despite this being the case, Davis’ career has been marked by the same criticism that Mayweather had faced.
The failure to target the biggest names in the division such as Shakur Stevenson, Teofimo Lopez, Devin Haney or Vasiliy Lomachenko has coincided with mega paydays that Tank has garnered.
But that unfortunately is hindering Tank’s recognition in the sport.
Davis Vs. Inoue
Meanwhile, Mayweather has called for Davis and Inoue to face each other at a catchweight. Both fighters are at the top of their game even if they are campaigning at different weight classes.
Davis fights at lightweight, as his biggest win came over Garcia in April. Meanwhile, Inoue became a four-division champion after he stopped Stephen Fulton in the super bantamweight division.
As a result, Showtime’s Stephen Espinoza had not ruled out such a fight.
“Look, you never know. Inoue’s come up a lot of weight already, but he’s been carrying the power the whole time. Yeah it sounds a little bit crazy now he’s at 122lbs, but it’s only 13lbs more.
“It’s intriguing. I would love to see Tank vs Inoue. After that performance yesterday I wouldn’t put anything out of his reach,” Espinoza
However, the difference in size could prove a problem. As of now, there is a 17-pound difference between the weight classes, so even with a catchweight at 130 for example, Inoue would have to put on eight pounds.
And given that Davis would most likely rehydrate, the size appears to be a stretch too far. And yet, Mayweather was keen to make it happen.
“What I need Inoue to do is to come to fight in the USA, random blood and urine testing. I would like to see him fight Gervonta Davis at a catchweight,” Mayweather