Gervonta Davis has served his apprenticeship under Floyd Mayweather and is now a Pay Per View star in his own right.
Lightweight ruler Davis remains close to his mentor as comparisons between the two begin to fade.
Gervonta Davis is a Pay Per View star
Carrying the significant burden of headlining his own PPVs against superstar Leo Santa Cruz, Mario Barrios, Isaac Cruz, and Rolando Romero, the message has been well and truly hammered home by Leonard Ellerbe.
While working alongside Mayweather to develop the ‘Tank’ brand, Ellerbe has always been confident that Gervonta Davis will step up to the plate.
And to those with negativity to offer, Ellerbe has a clear response – wait and see.
Mayweather and Ellerbe have never waivered from their blueprint. What they saw in Davis from day one continues to be the plan. He is the future of boxing.
The Santa Cruz fight was the first significant step on that road, following years of selling out arenas in his own right.
Davis won’t emulate Floyd Mayweather
Davis is not a massive PPV salesman, but this isn’t the vision. The main goal is to be an attraction, and Davis is definitively that right now.
It’s time to raise the stakes, though. Make Davis continue the mantle by sheer determination, considerable talent, and a tenacious ability to attract a crowd.
As Ellerbe said it best during fight week, Davis wants the pressure of having the whole show in him. He’s not shirking any responsibility here.
Ellerbe has a one-track mind regarding knowing which direction to take Davis in the future.
“All hands on deck over here with making him a household name,” assured Ellerbe. “We all the way locked in.
“He’s going to continue to do his part ain’t no stopping him from reaching the top!
“He’s trying to be the best version of himself. I’m focused on Tank and making the most significant fights for him.
“But he can fight his a– off and has a big future. We believe in Tank and know what we’re doing over here.
“I mean it when I say he has the best team in boxing,” he added.
No Mayweather shadow
Davis continues to be mentioned as Floyd Mayweather’s clone or as being in his shadow, but that isn’t the case.
At 27, the Baltimore man is on the right path. He is precisely where he needs to be to one day be the biggest name in boxing.
Having Mayweather and Ellerbe pushing him all the way can only help that process. In no way is it a recipe to recreate what Mayweather did.
“We’re not building Tank to be like the ‘Mayweather standard’ – whatever the f— that means,” said Ellerbe.
Ryan Garcia call out
Despite what some might say, there’ll be no breaking out of Floyd Mayweather’s shadow. Davis is already out on his own.
Ryan Garcia call outs don’t dictate where Davis goes. If anything, those shouts will make Ellerbe and Mayweather steer Davis to an alternative route.
It’s Davis who calls the shots, not the other way around. Until Garica and promoter Oscar De La Hoya gets that notion locked down, we may never see that fight happen.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of Phil Jay.
WBN Editor Phil has over ten years of boxing news experience. Follow WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews and Twitter @worldboxingnews.
