By Keith Idec
BALTIMORE – Gervonta Davis didn’t hesitate when asked Saturday night who he wants to face next.
The unbeaten WBA “super” 130-pound champion feels he and Tevin Farmer have done enough talking about boxing one another. It’s time that they finally fight.
“That’s definitely what I want,” Farmer said following his second-round stoppage of Ricardo Nunez. “I don’t know if it’s gonna be next, but I would want it to be next.”
Putting together a Davis-Farmer fight still will be easier said than done.
Baltimore’s Davis (22-0, 21 KOs) is promoted by Floyd Mayweather, is affiliated with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions and Showtime televises his fights. Philadelphia’s Farmer (30-4-1, 6 KOs, 1 NC) is promoted by Lou DiBella, who works with PBC, but his past four fights have been streamed by DAZN.
Farmer alluded during an interview with BoxingScene.com last week to boxing politics and money remaining obstacles in putting together that fight (https://www.boxingscene.com/farmer-promoters-protecting-davis-from-self-fight-happen--141241).
“That ain’t my [concern],” Davis said. “I don’t care, as long as we make the fight happen. Whatever to make the fight happen, I’m willing to do it. So, I’m all for it on my end. Hopefully he all for it on his end.”
While Davis was busy fulfilling his mandatory obligation against Panama’s Nunez (21-3, 19 KOs) at a sold-out Royal Farms Arena on Saturday night, Farmer made a mandatory defense of his IBF junior lightweight title in Arlington, Texas. That’s where Farmer defeated France’s Guillame Frenois (46-2-1, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision in their 12-rounder at the University of Texas at Arlington’s College Park Center.
Farmer mentioned the Davis fight following his victory as well.
“I believe both of the fighters want it,” Davis said. “I’m really not sure if he really want it, or just talking, or just want the money. But we been going back and forth over social media for like two years now. So, I think it’s time. It’s time. The time is now.”
Mayweather said he would want a Davis-Farmer fight to be mark Davis’ debut as a pay-per-view headliner. Despite Davis’ obvious popularity in his hometown, where a capacity crowd of 14,686 attended Saturday’s show, Mayweather thinks a Davis-Farmer fight likely would take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
“I’m pretty sure the Tevin Farmer fight will probably be in New York City, or somewhere on the East Coast,” Mayweather said. “But Tank, like I said before, when he keep going out here and performing like he’s performing, eventually he’s gonna be in Vegas, doing what I did. So, all he gotta do is keep winning, stay focused and soon he’ll be selling arenas out all over the world. And that’s the ultimate goal.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
