Former world titleholder Chris Algieri is uncertain whether we will see Gervonta “Tank” Davis back in a boxing ring again.
Davis, 30-0-1 (28 KOs), has been beset with legal woes, and in March he controversially drew with Lamont Roach Jnr. A rematch appeared on tap but didn’t happen, and then Davis lined up a farcical exhibition against Jake Paul – which, too, was shelved.
On Saturday, Roach fought to a majority draw with another former Davis foe in Isaac Cruz, for which Algieri was on the ground covering for PPV.com. And although both Roach and Cruz would surely like the lucrative Davis to return, when asked whether he felt either of them would get a rematch, Algieri said: “No, I don't think ‘Tank’ fights anybody again. I don't think his heart's in it. I think the reason he took the fight with Paul was because his handlers saw and were hearing things about him that he doesn't want to fight anymore.”
Davis’ performance against Roach had already raised questions about his dedication, particularly a bizarre moment in the ninth round in which Davis took a knee and raced to his corner so his face could be wiped with a towel.
“He doesn't want to be in these tough, hard-nosed fights anymore,” Algieri said. “He showed that in the moment, in the Roach fight. Even picking Roach – who was a 16-to-1 underdog – even having that fight be made shows you that he wasn't looking at the top guys in the weight class. There's a bunch of really good, really tough lightweights out there. And, you know, he gave Roach the opportunity, and during the fight, you could just tell he didn't want to be there. He literally took a knee and took a break during the round.
“I think that the writing was on the wall for their team, and they're like, ‘All right, what's the biggest payday possible? Jake Paul – boom – go for that.’ That obviously fell through for some pretty ugly, sloppy reasons.
“I don't know if we see him back, especially at the highest level. And it's unfortunate, ‘cause he is a lot of fun. But the writing just seems to be on the wall for him that we're not going to see him back, especially at the highest level.”
Davis, a 31-year-old Baltimore native, is a gifted and heavy-handed southpaw who had the boxing world at his feet. But he has not had the number of defining fights expected, even though he has made incredible money.
“And the question is, does he care and will he care?” Algieri said when asked about Davis’ legacy. “And probably not, because, you know, sleeping and having all that money at night is probably all he really cares about. I don't think he cares so much about the legacy of it. He never really has alluded to that. He's never mentioned that. He's just had a Midas touch of a career in terms of how he was able to be developed and get the fights that he had. But he also started really young. So even though he's still pretty young, he fought for a long time, made a lot of money, made a lot of money, won a bunch of titles. But in terms of legacy, I'm not really sure he cares that much.”
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, a BWAA award winner, and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
