LAS VEGAS – Gervonta Davis will make his debut as a full-fledged lightweight when he faces Yuriorkis Gamboa on December 28.
Vasiliy Lomachenko likely will move back down from lightweight to junior lightweight after facing the winner of the December 14 bout between Teofimo Lopez and Richard Commey sometime in 2020. Though they might not operate within the same weight class much longer, Davis still thinks he’ll eventually fight the three-division champion from Ukraine.
“I mean, it’s gonna happen,” Davis told a group of reporters over the weekend at MGM Grand. “It’s gonna happen.”
Davis also said that he still can get down to the junior lightweight limit of 130 pounds. Therefore, if Lomachenko would only fight the knockout artist from Baltimore at 130 pounds, Davis would drop down to the division in which he twice won world titles.
“I don’t know,” Davis said in reference to the weight at which he thinks he’ll battle Lomachenko. “But regardless, it’s gonna happen.”
The 24-year-old Davis is already in position to box Lomachenko.
He is the No. 1 contender for Lomachenko’s WBA “super” world lightweight title. Whomever wins the bout between Davis (22-0, 21 KOs) and Cuba’s Gamboa (30-2, 18 KOs), which Showtime will televise next month from State Farm Arena in Atlanta, also will take home the WBA’s interim 135-pound championship.
The 31-year-old Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs) also holds the WBO lightweight title and is the WBC’s franchise champion at 135 pounds. Facing the victor of the fight that’ll match Commey (29-2, 26 KOs), the IBF champion, against Lopez (14-0, 11 KOs) would afford Lomachenko the opportunity to win the only lightweight crown he hasn’t held.
Bob Arum told BoxingScene.com recently that he expects Lomachenko to drop down to 130 pounds following his fight with the Commey-Lopez winner.
“I think he going down because he getting touched up at that weight class,” Davis said of Lomachenko’s four-fight run at lightweight. “That’s why he going down, because he getting touched up too much at that weight class. So that’s wearing Lomachenko down. So that’s why he’s moving down.”
Regardless, Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe reiterated that Davis-Lomachenko will happen when Davis’ team senses the time is right.
“Our plan is we’re gonna make the biggest and best fights out there,” Ellerbe said. “And they’re gonna be on our terms, when we say we’re gonna do ‘em, and we’re gonna call the shots. And we’ll let everyone know when that happens. But first things first, it’s December 28th, and that’s what the focus is. Everyone wants to fight ‘Tank.’ Because think about this – there’s one common thing when you talk about the 26-pounders, the 30-pounders and the 35-pounders, and the 40-pounders, too – there’s one thing that’s common among all the fighters, and it’s a reason why. It’s a reason why. He cannot fight everybody in one night. We’re gonna line everybody up, and again, this is gonna be a great journey and you better get on it now.”
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