Junior lightweight world titleholder Gervonta "Tank" Davis, who looked spectacular in an exciting seventh-round knockout of Jose Pedraza to claim a 130-pound world title on Jan. 14 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, will not be making his initial defense at home in Baltimore, where he would surely draw a crowd.
Instead, Davis will face England's Liam Walsh, the mandatory challenger and a fellow southpaw, at the Copper Box Arena in London on Saturday (Showtime, 6 p.m. ET) in the first fight of a split-site, two-continent quadrupleheader.
Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe, who promotes the Floyd Mayweather protégé Davis, said he will eventually fight in Baltimore, but that the offer for him to defend against Walsh in London was the right deal to make.
"We think this is a wonderful opportunity and a tremendous platform for him to be able to showcase his skills across the world," Ellerbe said. "With him being a young champion I think he has an advantage, and working alongside someone like Floyd, someone who can explain to him what it's like to go into hostile territory and what to expect coming into a big fight.
"All those intangibles, along with his hard work and preparation he's done, I think he has a tremendous advantage and has the perfect team in his corner to get the job done."
At age 22, Davis, a dynamic fighter with speed and power in both hands, is the youngest world titleholder from the United States, and the second-youngest in all of boxing to Japan's Kosei Tanaka, a 21-year-old junior flyweight titlist, who also defends his belt on Saturday.
Despite his youth, Davis (17-0, 16 KOs) is treating his oversees trip with maturity and sees it as a great opportunity.
"I believe it was the right business move as far as getting me to the U.K. in my early career and giving the fans what they want to see," Davis said. "I have a lot of U.K. fans after the Pedraza fight, so I think it's a good change. It's good for me to fight in the U.K. I fought overseas when I was an amateur so now I'm going as a pro and I feel like it's a great opportunity.
"I'm actually excited to fight in the U.K. I believe that I will have a crowd over there and I'm excited to put on a show for the U.K. fans."
