By Jake Donovan

It goes without saying that 2018 was a year to forget for Gervonta Davis.

The lone highlight of the year for the unbeaten southpaw was beginning a second tour as a super featherweight titlist, blowing through former 126-pound title claimant Jesus Cuellar in three rounds last April.

The quick hit represents his lone piece of ring action spanning nearly 18 months ahead of his Showtime-headlining title defense versus Hugo Ruiz this Saturday in Carson, California.

There were several out-of-the-ring developments factoring into the inactive stretch, though not preventing the 24-year old Baltimore native from wondering aloud (through social media) why he was being kept on ice by the team at Mayweather Promotions. As time crept deeper into the calendar year, it became clear that Davis was going to have to settle for just one fight—but with the promise of much bigger and better things to come.

As Davis (20-0, 19KOs) fights under adviser Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) umbrella, he figures to reap the benefits of the platform’s recently secured lucrative long-term deals with Showtime and Fox Sports. A major priority of the Mayweather Promotions team was to get its young thoroughbred back in the ring in the 1st quarter of the new year—and keep him far more active than has been the case in recent time.

“I'm actually in a better space knowing that I have these dates lined up,” Davis said during a recent media conference call to discuss his fight this weekend, which marks his first Showtime-aired main event. “I never had dates lined up like this with me being the main event. I have my dates and I'm just super excited.

The promise of Davis headlining his first primetime Showtime telecast required a lot of hustle from his handlers to save the February 9 date. The southpaw was due to face former three-division titlist Abner Mares, who was forced to withdraw due to what was recently revealed as surgery to repair a detached retina.

A mad dash on behalf of the Mayweather Promotions team and Showtime staff resulted in their securing the services of Ruiz (39-4, 33KOs). The former 122-pound titlist from Mexico recently moved up to featherweight, which came on the January 19 Showtime Pay-Per-View undercard of Manny Pacquiao’s 12-round win over Adrien Broner.

Ruiz’s role on the card took on a different form, as he himself was forced to face a late-replacement opponent in Alberto Guevara after originally scheduled Jhack Tepora showed up more than five pounds over the limit for their intended title eliminator. Having immediately returned to the gym and maintaining the naturally replenished weight he added after the win, Ruiz eagerly accepted the opportunity to vie for Davis’ 130-pound title.

“(Davis) wants to have a phenomenal year and everything's in place for him to do that,” said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions. “We think the world of Gervonta Davis. We think that he's going to eventually be the biggest star in this sport and right now he's the most exciting fighter in the entire sport.

“So that's what we're looking forward to, him just getting back. That's why Floyd was very adamant to me when Abner fell out. He called me it was, like really the wee hours of the morning and he said, "Tank has to fight." And we're all on the same page with that.”

Of course, it took a lot for the young boxer and his promotional team to get back on the same page after an unfortunate turn in their relationship a year ago.

“He knows firsthand that in 2018 a lot of things happened and a lot of things people don't know about and that those were personal things,” notes Ellerbe of the company’s young thoroughbred. “Again, he's a young man. He made a few mistakes and he stepped up. He owned those mistakes and he's moved on.

“He's young, he needs to be active. He wants to be out there showcasing his skills to show you that he is what he is. And again come next Saturday night I think we can expect another sensational performance from Tank.”

The trick from there will be for those sensational performances to come far more often.

Davis rarely if ever disappoints once he’s in the ring, entering Saturday’s contest riding an 11-fight knockout streak. Even in the one career bout to go to the scorecards, Davis managed two knockdowns in an Oct. ’14 six-round shutout of veteran German Meraz.

The star potential was clearly evident in his brutal dismantling of Jose Pedraza in Jan. ’17, snatching the 130-pound title from the previously unbeaten Puerto Rican southpaw in seven largely one-sided rounds. Just one successful defense followed, a 3rd round stoppage of then-unbeaten contender Liam Walsh in a May ’17 bout in England where making weight was a struggling but eventually successful venture for Davis.

He wasn’t so lucky three months later, conceding the title on the scale ahead of his 8th round knockout of Francisco Fonseca. The bout took place on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather’s ring return following a two-year hiatus, knocking out UFC superstar and boxing debutant Conor McGregor in 10 rounds atop what became the second most lucrative boxing Pay-Per-View event in history.

Davis’ scale fail for such a high-profile show followed by a 2018 worth leaving in the rearview mirror cast doubts regarding how his prime years would ultimately play out. All of that has been sorted out, however, with the rising star never more excited about his future.

“This camp I really haven't been down, so I've been happy knowing that I have a big future and three big fights lined up for me,” admits Davis. “I'm just excited. I'm just soaking it all in, making sure I'm training hard so every fight I bring excitement to the sport. I'm just, I'm in a great space right now.”