Who is Gervonta “Tank” Davis?
Ahead of this weekend's huge April 22 SHOWTIME PPV headliner between undefeated superstars Gervonta “Tank” Davis and “King” Ryan Garcia, BBN decided to find out a list of interesting facts about the brilliant Baltimore boxer known for being a bit of a bad boy.
Still in his twenties, Davis has had an eventful life, one that could easily be turned into a film one day. Here's a list of facts all about the boxing star:
Facts
Gervonta was born November 7, 1994, the youngest of three brothers, in Sandtown-Winchester community of West Baltimore, which is one of the most crime-ridden areas of the city. He described his childhood growing up as "worse than The Wire".
Both his parents, Garrin Davis and Kenya Brown, were drug addicts and his mother left Gervonta and his older brother, Demetrius Fenwick, when he was only four years old, while his father was imprisoned. So the siblings were taken into foster care. His grandmother, Deborah Easter, fought for years to get the boys back and eventually succeeded. Before that, she was only permitted to visit her grandchildren for 30 minutes in a small room, which Gervonta likened to being in prison.
Gervonta was an angry youth and fought often at school and on the streets. He admits to fighting teenagers to protect his 15-year-old brother, Demetrius, when he was only eight. When his uncle, James Walker, saw him fighting on his doorstep, he took him straight to the gym. It was another uncle that also invested in young Gervonta by buying him the boxing equipment he needed to get started.
He describes his older brother, Demetrius, as the family favourite because he was such a bad kid, always in trouble, with no prospects of making anything for himself. As soon as Davis started boxing, he said he had no more time to fight out in the streets: “I was in the gym by the time I was seven, and I was there all the time, so I didn’t have time to run the streets.”
He attended Digital Harbor High School, a local magnet school, but dropped out to focus on his boxing career. He later earned his secondary degree through a GED program.
Davis begun training at the city-funded Upton Boxing Center at just seven years old and went on to acheive an incredible record of 206-15. He recalls running straight from school to train at the gym, always being the first one there and sometimes waiting up to two hours for it open at 4:30pm and falling asleep outside, which is when the Daycare next door would call the police on him suspecting him to be a junkie.
The youngster won the 2012 National Golden Gloves Championship in Mesquite, Texas, and 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, among others.
He got the nickname “Tank” from a former trainer who said it in reference to how his large head looked on his body!
Davis is trained by Calvin Ford who was the inspiration for the character Dennis "Cutty" Wise on the hit HBO television series, The Wire. Ford was once a part of the Boardley-Burrows drug organisation in West Baltimore in the 1980’s, but was convicted of racketeering and conspiracy and served 10 years in federal prison, where he learned how to box. He began coaching upon his release and eventually met a young Davis, who he believes saved him from his life of crime, “In a sense, we saved each other. I may have been looking out for him, but by being there, he kept me out of trouble, too.” Helping Davis may also have been due to the fact that Ford sadly lost his first-born son to gun violence.
Davis turned pro with Al Haymon at 18 instead of waiting to trial for the Rio 2016 Olympics. He then signed with Mayweather Promotions after impressing at a sparring session. Gervonta claims Floyd looks to him like a son, however, they have had a tumultuous relationship.
He won his pro debut against Desi Williams in February 2013 within 90 seconds and went on to knock out his first eight opponents in a row. He knocked down 79-bouter German Ivan Meraz in rounds three and five of their October 2014 fight, but the tough Mexican managed to last the six-round distance, becoming the first man to do so, and only one other – Isaac“Pitball” Cruz – has been able to achieve the same feat.
Half of his KOs – 13 – have come in rounds one and two.
Davis is now a five-time, three-division world champion – super-featherweight, lightweight, super-lightweight.
His 28 opponents’ combined record comes to a total of 469-125.
On August 21, 2021, Davis was on board a Gulfstream 4 private jet that suffered a nosewheel collapse and subsequently skidded off the runway at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. He and 13 others on board thankfully sustained no injuries.
He is a loving father to his four-year-old daughter, Gervanni, born June 20, 2018. His daughter lives with her mother Andretta Smothers after she split from Gervonta. It was with Smothers that Davis was filmed involved in a heated scuffle during a basketball game where Davis became physical, grabbing at his former partner, which caused widespread controversies, which has since been settled.
When he was 20, he had the seven-letter word "Blessed" tattoed on his neck.
He is not only a big name in boxing, but a huge sports celebrity, and friends with A-Listers such as Beyonce.
Despite his rough upbringing and numerous run ins with the law, Davis is known for his charitable work, partnering with organisations like the Salvation Army and the Baltimore Children's Museum, plus many others.
Bad Boy For Life
On September 19, 2017, an arrest warrant was issued for Davis, who was being accused of first-degree aggravated assault, but the alleged incident took place on August 1, 2017. The charge was later changed to misdemeanor second-degree assault, which carries a maximum potential sentence of 10 years. At the court, Anthony Wheeler, a childhood friend, complained that Davis punched him on the side of the head with a "gloved fist" and was diagnosed with concussion at the hospital. The incident took place at the Upton Boxing Center in West Baltimore. On November 29, 2017, in court, the charges were dropped by Wheeler. The Baltimore Sun stated that Davis and Wheeler both embraced and walked out of the courtroom together.
On September 14, 2018, Davis was arrested in Washington, D.C. According to a police report, he and another man started a fist fight. Punches were being landed around the upper body. It was said that someone had tried to break up the fight and both men tried to flee before the police arrived.
On February 1, 2020, Davis was arrested on charges of simple battery/domestic violence against his former girlfriend. The incident occurred at the Watsco Center at the University of Miami during a basketball game where he was seen grabbing the woman's shirt "with his right hand close to her throat" and dragged her to a separate room.
That same year, he was involved in a hit-and-run incident in which he struck a pedestrian with his car while driving under the influence. He was later sentenced to probation and community service.
On March 22, 2021, he was indicted on fourteen counts for allegedly running a red light after a November 2020 birthday party in downtown Baltimore. His Lamborghini SUV struck another car and left it smoking, sending its four occupants to the hospital including a pregnant woman. He allegedly left the scene in a Camaro that pulled up minutes later. On February 16, Davis accepted a plea deal that saw him plead guilty to leaving the scene of an accident involving bodily injury, failing to notify an owner of property damage, driving on a suspended license and running a red light. He is due to be sentenced on May 5.
On December 27, 2022, days before he was due to fight Héctor García, Davis was arrested and jailed in Florida on a charge of battery domestic violence. In the audio from 911 calls, the woman was heard begging police for help and saying "he's going to kill me." Police observed an abrasion on the inside of the woman's lip, with Davis accused of striking her with a "closed hand type slap."
Bio
Bouts: 28
Rounds: 123
W: 28
L: 0
D: 0
KO: 26
KO Ratio: 92.86%
Age: 28
Height: 5′ 5½″ / 166cm
Reach: 67½″ / 171cm
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Article sponsored by HÖRFA
