Gervonta Davis

Gervonta Davis (born November 7, 1994), also known as Abdul Wahid and by his nickname "Tank", is an American professional boxer.

He won the 2012 National Golden Gloves Championship, three straight National Silver Gloves Championships from 2006 to 2008, two National Junior Olympics gold medals, two National Police Athletic League Championships, and two Ringside World Championships.

Davis finished his illustrious amateur career with an impressive record of 221–5.

Davis made his debut at the age of 18 on February 22, 2013, against Desi Williams, who had a professional record of 0 wins and 4 losses, all by stoppage.

The fight took place at the D.C. Armory in Washington on the undercard of IBF junior welterweight fight between Lamont Peterson and Kendall Holt.

Davis won the bout via first-round knockout (KO).

By August 2014, Davis had recorded 8 wins and no losses, with all wins coming inside the distance.

Davis was taken the six-round distance for the first time in October 2014 against veteran 28-year-old Germán Meraz (47–31–1, 25 KOs).

Davis knocked Meraz down in rounds three and five, and went on to win a unanimous decision (UD), with all three judges scoring the bout 60–52.

On February 20, 2015, at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Davis became the first person to stop Israel Suarez (4–4–2, 1 KO), winning in devastating fashion with a first-round KO.

On May 22, 2015, at The Claridge Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Davis scored a technical knockout (TKO) against Alberto Mora (5–3, 1 KO) 1 minute 14 seconds into the fight.

The normally durable Mora was stopped for the first time in his career.

On September 12, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Showtime as part of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Andre Berto undercard, Davis defeated Recky Dulay (8–1, 5 KOs) in only 94 seconds.

On October 30, 2015

, at The Venue at UCF in Orlando, Florida, on Bounce TV, Davis defeated former featherweight world titleholder Cristobal Cruz (40–18–4, 24 KOs).

On December 18, 2015, at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on Spike TV, Davis scored a ninth-round KO over Luis Sanchez (17–4–1, 5 KOs).

On April 1, 2016, at the D.C. Armory on Spike TV, Davis defeated Guillermo Avila (16–5, 13 KOs) by KO in the sixth round.

On June 3, 2016, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, as part of a Premier Boxing Champions card, Davis knocked out Mario Antonio Macias (28–18, 14 KOs) with his first punch of the fight, which lasted only 41 seconds.

On November 15, 2016 ESPN announced that Davis would challenge for the IBF super featherweight title against undefeated José Pedraza (22–0, 12 KOs) on January 14, 2017, at the Barclays Center in New York on Showtime.

The fight would take place as an undercard fight to the super middleweight world title unification fight between James DeGale and Badou Jack.

The IBF granted Pedraza an exemption to fight Davis, as he had a mandatory fight against Liam Walsh looming.

Prior to the fight being announced, Mayweather Promotions matchmakers tried to make a deal for Davis to fight titleholder Jason Sosa.

Davis defeated Pedraza in a seventh-round KO to win the IBF super featherweight title.

After the fight, Davis said that he had studied the early career of his promoter and mentor, Floyd Mayweather Jr., in order to stay composed.

He said, "I had a lot of experience [from the amateur ranks], but I learned how to keep my composure. Floyd told me to stay calm, and I studied Floyd Mayweather [videos] when he was 'Pretty Boy.' My uppercut was my best shot, and it was landing all night. It felt really good to fight the way I did. I could take it and dish it out."

Mayweather Jr. himself enthusiastically branded his protégé as the future of boxing.

For the fight, Davis earned $75,000 compared to Pedraza, who earned the larger sum of $225,000, in what was his third defense.

At the time of stoppage, Davis was ahead 59–55 on all three judges' scorecards.

On May 7, 2017, it was announced Davis would travel to London, England for his first title defense.

The news came from Frank Warren, promoter of challenger Liam Walsh (21–0, 14 KO), who was also ranked number 1 by the IBF.

The fight was scheduled to take place on May 20, 2017, and billed as 'Show me the Money '.

At the official weigh in on May 19, Davis made weight on his third attempt.

He has held multiple world championships in three weight classes, from super featherweight to light welterweight, including the World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight title since 2019.

Known for his exceptional punching power, ring IQ and counter-punching ability, Davis is ranked as the best active lightweight by BoxRec, third by ESPN, and fifth by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and The Ring magazine.

Davis was raised in the Sandtown-Winchester community in West Baltimore, one of the most crime-ridden areas of the city.

He attended Digital Harbor High School, a local magnet school, but dropped out to focus on his career.

He later earned his secondary degree through a GED program.

Davis has been training at Upton Boxing Center since he was five years old.

Davis is trained by Calvin Ford who was the inspiration for the character Dennis "Cutty" Wise on the hit HBO television series, The Wire.

Davis had a very successful amateur career, winning many national championships.