By Keith Idec
Tevin Farmer still wants nothing more than to fight rival Gervonta Davis.
But now that he has the IBF junior lightweight title and a new multi-fight agreement with DAZN, Farmer isn’t as consumed as he once was with defeating Davis.
“We want the fight on my end,” Farmer told BoxingScene.com. “But it’s not happening, so Tevin Farmer has gotta do what’s best for him. Fighting Gervonta Davis won’t make or break me, so it really don’t matter.”
Philadelphia’s Farmer (26-4-1, 5 KOs, 1 NC) is fully focused this week on making the first defense of his 130-pound championship against England’s James Tennyson (22-2, 18 KOs). They’ll fight on the Demetrius Andrade-Walter Kautondokwa undercard Saturday night at TD Garden in Boston.
“Right now, I’ve gotta get past October 20th,” Farmer said. “I’m not overlooking him because anyone at this level is coming to fight – period. I’m gonna be ready for it.”
Thereafter, though, the 28-year-old Farmer hopes Davis agrees to face him in what would be a 130-pound title unification fight. Baltimore’s Davis (20-0, 19 KOs) hasn’t fought since stopping Argentina’s Jesus Cuellar (28-3, 21 KOs) in the third round April 21 in Brooklyn to win a then-vacant portion of the WBA’s super featherweight title.
“The fight for me is personal,” Farmer said, “so that’s why I want the fight. It’s no other reason, because it’s not like I beat him and then this will happen. No, with or without him, I’m still gonna be Tevin Farmer and I’m gonna still make money and I’m still gonna be the best I can be, with or without him. So that’s not the case. The case is it’s personal and I want the fight.”
The 23-year-old Davis, who’s promoted by Floyd Mayweather Jr. and advised by Al Haymon, doesn’t have a fight scheduled.
“I don’t know who don’t want the fight,” Farmer said. “I just know the fight’s not happening, so whether it’s him or his people, it’s still a bad look. I don’t care who it is – we want the fight. Eddie Hearn has told him he got that bag [of money] for him, so make it happen. I’ve got [DAZN’s] Eddie Hearn and [promoter] Lou DiBella backing me. We got the money. Let’s make it happen. I want the fight.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
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