Editor’s note: This article was originally published on SportingNews.com.
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Nine days before he was due to step inside the ring against Leo Santa Cruz on Saturday night at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Gervonta Davis hit the pavement hard. He’d already had a training session and started doing a litany of media rounds to promote his initial outing on pay-per-view and then was going back to the gym to spar.
By that point, most fighters shut down the media as they make final preparations for fight night. Not Davis, as he understands that this is all part of the process on the road to becoming a megastar.
“It’s great for me,” Davis told Sporting News. “I asked for this life. I got to be able to deal with what comes with it. I’m definitely appreciative to be in this position. I’m happy.”
Pay-per-view is typically reserved for the premiere names in the sport. Before Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquaio and Canelo Alvarez became worldwide superstars, they fought on premium television, which helped them build their audience. When their stars began to shine, they were put on pay-per-view.
Mayweather, Davis’ promoter, feels the 25-year-old is the guy to supplant him as the next king of pay-per-view. The 43-year-old has been entrenched in Davis’ fight camp in every facet and has been guiding him on this new phase of his career.
But making your pay-per-vew debut during the COVID-19 pandemic is a gamble. It’s going to be a test of Davis’ marketability, as the Charlo Brothers had their event at the end of last month and UFC 254 — featuring one of the world’s most prominent athletes, Khabib Nurmagomedov — occurred on Saturday.
Davis’ fan base is snowballing because of a hip-hop audience that helped him sell nearly 30,000 tickets for his past two fights. And some boxing pundits describe him as a smaller version of Mike Tyson because 22 of his 23 wins have come by knockout.
Still, are fans going to plop down $74.99 to see him fight?
“You got to be able to put on a performance so people will want to watch it again,” Davis said. “That will make a star [and] that will make people want to tune in. That’s what I’m basically worried about.
“I want to put on a great performance. I want to do great things and great numbers where I can continue to fight on pay-per-view. I don’t want to just fight on pay-per-view one time, and that’s it. I want to become that big star.”
Mayweather has no doubts about his fighter’s appeal.
“I know ‘Tank’ is ready for pay-per-view because his fan base is really growing,” Mayweather said on a recent conference call to promote the fight. “The demographic that follows him is getting bigger. With Leo being popular on the West Coast and in Texas, he’ll bring a huge following, as well. This fight can only be on pay-per-view, in my opinion.”
Standing in the way of Davis’ path to superstardom is Santa Cruz (37-1-1, 19 KOs). The 32-year-old is a four-division world champion has an all-action style and throws around 1,000 punches per fight. It’s Santa Cruz’s style that makes Davis (23-0, 22 KOs) feel that “El Terremoto” is the perfect foe to show a new audience what he’s all about.
“I think that’s why he is a great opponent,” Davis said. “He’s definitely gonna bring that great style he has. He’s going to bring his fans. I think I could build off of his fans and his style and make it a great night for boxing.
“I think he brings everything I can possibly bring to the table as far as excitement, throwing punches. He’s a four-time world champion. We know he’s always going to come prepared.
“He only had one loss, and that was debatable. But other than that, he’s great. He’s a great fighter all around the board. I can’t wait to share the ring with him.”
If Davis can pass his toughest test to date, there are plenty of fights that would garner significant interest, from Devin Haney to Ryan Garcia and unified lightweight titleholder Teofimo Lopez. The sky is the limit for Davis, assuming he can stay out of trouble and focused on his career, areas where he has struggled.
Davis thinks he has turned a page. And that’s the lasting impression he wants to make on Halloween night.
“He’s a damn star,” Davis wants people to say. “Put him back on pay-per-view. Let him do great things. Let him stay out of trouble, continue to put on great performances in front of a crowd, and just be that person everyone wants to see.
“I want to leave an impression on that person that every time I fight, everybody is rushing home to their TV or there at the fight.”
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