Gervonta Davis could be on his way to the top of the pound-for-pound list.
That fate seems more likely than ever after his seventh-round knockout of previously unbeaten Ryan Garcia in their 136-pound fight Saturday night in Las Vegas. Davis outboxed his rival and then finished him off in spectacular fashion, the result of a single body shot.
But did the performance lift Davis – No. 10 going into the fight – higher on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list?
No. We’ll explain why.
Davis’ fans might say, “Hey, wait a second? You boosted Shakur Stevenson up the list after his April 8 stoppage of Shuichiro Yoshino, who clearly isn’t as good or accomplished as Garcia.”
True. But Stevenson leap-frogged Vasiliy Lomachenko, a 35-year-old who many feel has begun to decline, and Artur Beterbiev, a 38-year-old who is still formidable but clearly not the boxer Stevenson is.
The two fighters sitting directly above Davis are No. 8 Canelo Alvarez and No. 9 Jermell Charlo. We didn’t feel a victory over the talented, but relatively untested Garcia was enough for Davis to rise above fighters of Alvarez and Charlo’s caliber.
Davis will have to beat a fellow pound-for-pounder or watch those above him fall to climb toward the top of the list. And that time could come soon, as he has his sights set on 135-pound rivals No. 11 Lomachenko, No. 13 Stevenson and No. 15 Devin Haney, the undisputed champion.
Many believe Davis is a prime candidate to end up at No. 1. He just needs better opposition and time.
Next pound-for-pounder up: Alvarez is scheduled to defend his undisputed 168-pound championship against John Ryder on pay-per-view May 6 in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Here’s what the list looks like at the moment:
BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND
- Terence Crawford – Reportedly has re-entered talks to face No. 4 Errol Spence Jr. for the undisputed 147-pound championship but deal has been reached.
- Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to challenge 122-pound titleholder and Honorable Mention Stephen Fulton Jr. on July 25 in Tokyo.
- Oleksandr Usyk – Reportedly in talks to defend his three heavyweight titles against Daniel Dubois but nothing concreate has emerged from the negotiations.
- Errol Spence Jr. – Reportedly has re-entered talks to face No. 1 Terence Crawford for the undisputed 147-pound championship but deal has been reached..
- Dmitry Bivol – Expected to defend his 175-title against Canelo Alvarez in a rematch in September but no agreement has been reached..
- Tyson Fury – Reportedly considering a title defense against former beltholder Andy Ruiz Jr. or Zhilei Zhang in July.
- Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
- Canelo Alvarez– Scheduled to defend his undisputed 168-pound championship against John Ryder on May 6 in Guadalajara, Mexico.
- Jermell Charlo – Expected to defend his undisputed 154-pound championship against top contender Tim Tszyu this summer but no agreement is in place.
- Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
- Vasiliy Lomachenko – Scheduled to challenge undisputed 135-pound champion and No. 15 Devin Haney on May 20 in Las Vegas.
- Artur Beterbiev – The WBC has ordered the three-belt champ to defend its title against Callum Smith but it’s not clear whether there is movement in that direction.
- Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled.
- Roman Gonzalez – No fight scheduled.
- Devin Haney – Scheduled to defend his undisputed 135-pound championship against No. 11 Vasiliy Lomachenko on May 20 in Las Vegas..
Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (no fight scheduled); Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Stephen Fulton Jr. (scheduled to defend his 122-pound title against No. 2 Naoya Inoue on July 25 in Tokyo); Kazuto Ioka (reportedly scheduled to challenge 115-pound titleholder Joshua Franco on June 24 in Japan but no announcement has been made); Josh Taylor (scheduled to defend his WBO 140-pound title against Teofimo Lopez on June 10 in New York).