Gervonta Davis v Liam Walsh - 20/5/17 BT Sport/Boxnation

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Gervonta Davis v Liam Walsh for the IBF world super featherweight title
Liam Walsh finally gets his shot at the world title this weekend – more than four years after he was originally scheduled to box Ricky Burns for the WBO crown.
That fight, due to be held at London’s ExCeL in December 2012, was cancelled after Walsh was badly injured in a car crash.
The then 26-year-old had to be cut from the wreckage of his car and the muscle injuries sustained in the collision cost him dearly as it put his career back several years.
Since then the Cromer fighter had to content himself with winning and defending British, European and Commonwealth honours but he has finally, aged 30, earned himself another shot at the big time.
Last October’s points win over Andrey Klimov made him mandatory challenger for the IBF world super-featherweight title and he will now face undefeated American Gervonta Davis, who will be making the first defence of his title since sensationally dethroning Jose Pedraza in January.
The 22-year-old blitzed the Puerto Rican in seven one-sided rounds, effortlessly coping with the step-up in class before knocking out the champion with a vicious right hook with 34 seconds of the round remaining.


Ryan Walsh v Marco McCullough for the British featherweight title
It is a family affair at the Copper Box this Saturday night as Ryan Walsh acts as chief support to his brother Liam’s world title tilt when he defends his British featherweight title against Marco McCullough.
The 30-year-old comes into the contest on the back of a split decision defeat in his last outing when he challenged Dennis Ceylan for the European title last October.
However, Walsh is still a major force at domestic level and goes into the contest knowing that victory will see him get to keep the Lonsdale belt outright for making three successful defences.
Belfast’s McCullough goes into the contest on a three-fight winning run since losing to Isaac Lowe for the Commonwealth title.


The rest of the undercard
Anthony Yarde will aim to continue his knockout streak when he challenges Chris Hobbs for the Southern Area light heavyweight title.
The 25-year-old has only been taken the distance once in his 10 fight career and will be confident of putting on another hard-hitting show in his first title bout.
Also on the card there are run outs for Mitchell Smith, Boy Jones, Sanjeev Sahota and heavyweight prospect Daniel Dubois.

[Alpha]

I think this should be a really good fight. I think Walsh gives a few more scares than expected. Although another dominant showing by Davis only brightens his star.

[smashup]

Davis has been the stand out fighter so far for me this year, what he did to Pedraza in January was incredible and he looked the real deal, you can see flashes of a young Mayweather when he goes on the attack too.
I think Walsh is in for a serious schooling and beating and will be run over by the Tank, i like that Davis has come to the UK to fight as well.

[powerpuncher]

I wasn't sure if Davis were just flashy or actually good when I first saw him. I'm still not 100% sure but I'm leaning towards good.

[Primo Carnera]

I hope Walsh gives him a good fight, but I rate Davis very highly. I can see Davis finishing this before halfway. I hope I'm wrong though.

[Alpha]

Unusual that we have a couple of America's top potential stars travelling. Just shows how strong the UK fight scene is to have shifted the norm.

[Master]

Floyd Mayweather threatened to "slap" the brothers of world title hopeful Liam Walsh in an expletive-laden row.

The American argued with the pair at a news conference for Walsh's fight with IBF super-featherweight champion Gervonta Davis at London's Copper Box Arena on Saturday.

Ryan and Michael Walsh taunted Davis' promoter Mayweather for never fighting outside the US in his career.

The former five-weight world champion responded, leading to angry exchanges.

Mayweather questioned Walsh's promoter Frank Warren for signing the brothers to his stable of fighters, ordered them to leave the news conference and called them a string of derogatory names.

"You better get those two little leprechauns out of here before they get slapped," added 40-year-old Mayweather, who retired in 2015.

He then climbed on a platform to continue to shout at the pair as they left the room while the brothers shouted abuse back.

Liam Walsh appeared composed throughout the incident, despite Mayweather calling him "a super-cold bum".

Mayweather earned the nickname 'Money' in his career for generating - and flaunting - a fortune.

Davis, 22, has admitted pursuing a glamorous lifestyle in the past and Norfolk's Walsh, 31, said of his opponent: "We're complete polar opposites. Some people are that poor that all they have is money. I'm not that poor.

"My family, my happiness, my health is paramount in my life and that's all that matters to me."

But Mayweather teased Walsh: "One thing I learned, when it's time to cut the lights off when the bills are due, you can't go tell the bill man 'I love you' and they'll keep the lights on, so remember that."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/39969782

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Good article on Davis here - he's definitely had a rough past, it's great to see Floyd helping the kid out and even offering to help his mum out


Gervonta Davis' assessment of what life without boxing would have offered is bleak. But then so were his beginnings.
Deep within his 5ft 6in frame the American carries memories of seeing parents take drugs, recollections of scrapping for food, thoughts of foster care, and anguish for the friends lost to Baltimore's gang wars.
At 22 he has seen too much darkness. Yet on Saturday he will step out in London's bright lights as a world champion, alongside arguably boxing's most recognisable global face - a man who says Davis is "like my son".
Floyd 'Money' Mayweather has banked on a talent he calls the "future of boxing". But can Davis fully cut ties with a brutal past and run towards expectation where once there was hopelessness?


Englishman Liam Walsh - one of three professional-boxing brothers from Norfolk - provides IBF super-featherweight title defence number one for Davis at London's Copper Box Arena.
It is a long way from Pennsylvania Avenue in west Baltimore, a city where there was almost a murder a day in the year before Davis was born and one where he was left exposed and vulnerable to gang culture.
Mayweather claims Davis and his two brothers lived in a single room as children, sometimes going days without food until authorities stepped in.
"I was taken from my mother and father aged four or five", says Davis - nicknamed 'Tank' because of a perceived large head when he was little.
"Seeing my mother and father do drugs... I've been through a lot so there's nothing the next person can do to hurt me."
A dulling of pain and the hunger junior scars had left turned Davis into a formidable, if misguided, fighter. He displayed a vicious anger in school but when an uncle spotted him fighting on the streets, he took him to the gym to focus a destructive nature.
Trainer Calvin Ford - a man who took up boxing during 10 years in prison after being convicted on racketeering and conspiracy charges - began to channel the attributes worth saving. The character Cutty from acclaimed HBO drama The Wire was based on Ford. He says he and Davis "saved each other" and, while life at home saw the fighter move from foster care to a grandmother's house, the gym led him to national titles - and a taste of what could be.
"I would definitely be in jail or dead but I stayed in the gym and years later I'm signed to one of the best fighters ever," added Davis.


Life in Baltimore has shaped Davis for 'The Doghouse', the name given to brutal sparring sessions at Mayweather's Las Vegas gym.
He signed with Mayweather Promotions in 2015, ushering in a new level of scrutiny as suddenly expectation was on him, rather than simply fuelling a personal battle against the odds.
And the tutoring runs deep. Mayweather sits and studies his protege on the heavy bag, joins him on late-night runs and speaks of a commitment "to keep him on the right path".
But that goal is complex. Davis' mother is now clean, and training under the reformed Ford in Baltimore offers comfort, so much so he reportedly frustrated Mayweather last year by refusing to move to Las Vegas full-time, insisting he wants to offer people in Baltimore "hope".
"The first thing, when we signed him, I said 'we have to move your mother'," added 40-year-old American Mayweather, who won world titles in five weight divisions before retiring unbeaten in 2015.
"People kicked in his mother's door when they knew he'd signed for us.
"He's like my son. I love him and we've been through a lot in the short period of time we've been together. He's made some decisions I've not been too fond of.
"When his career is over I want him to have something. Early on I want him buying real estate and making smart investments. Boxing is short term, if you're a businessman it lasts forever.
"Even though he's quiet, he can surround himself with the wrong individuals. He wants to be in the inner city as that's where he comes from but I tell him we have to leave that alone and look to bigger and better things for the future."


Boxing has too many world champions, but of them all only Japan's 21-year-old WBO flyweight king Kosei Tanaka is younger than Davis.
As Mayweather tells the media just how good his man is, 'Tank' smiles cheekily, seemingly more than happy to hand the hype job over to a master. The level of praise is striking - arguably none of the other 30 or so fighters under the Mayweather banner are showered with such projections of greatness.
The backing, added to Davis' fan-friendly nature, will tick all the boxes outside of the ring. He has an element of showman about him, though posting videos of himself back-somersaulting from the top rope before landing punches in the gym may not be the safest of ways to attract social media followers.
He has admitted to being briefly swayed by the cars and jewellery that come with success, but vowed to go back to basics. They certainly have not softened him. In the ring he is nasty, focused and punishing, traits which will go a long way if he is to avoid becoming one of boxing's many wasted talents.
A southpaw, Davis' stance makes him tricky and he has been dubbed a 'mini Mike Tyson' by some observers for his stocky, come-forward style. A haul of 16 knockouts from 17 fights also fits the 'Iron Mike' mould.
In taking the IBF title last time out he showcased an ability to step up in class, and after some taunting of the champion, inflicted a first career defeat on Puerto Rican Jose Pedraza with a comprehensive knockout.
"Dynamite in both hands. Extremely fast. His fight game says he's cocky and arrogant - he doesn't have to say it with his mouth," Mayweather told BBC Sport.
"When he fought Pedraza I was nervous. It was a big step for him. But he handled it and to do what he did, I thought 'we have a star on our hands here'. This is just the start."


A win over Walsh - unbeaten in 21 fights - would answer more questions and stretch the Davis brand that little bit further.
But Davis can expect to meet a stubborn fighter. Walsh is respected in the British fight game for his grit and humility. At 31, he has longed for this chance having suffered injury in a car accident before a postponed meeting with Scotland's Ricky Burns for the WBO lightweight title in 2012.
The Cromer-based fighter contrasts all that is Team Mayweather. His gym is devoid of a shower, he speaks of money with no real desire and backs it up by sharing his earnings with his twin Ryan and brother Michael - both featherweights.
Promoter Frank Warren says his man is "underestimated" with a will to "go to the trenches" which may break Davis, who he feels has a "silver spoon in his mouth".
"Floyd is constantly telling him how good he is," said Warren. "In Davis' mind, he is there already. Once that bell goes and the fight starts, he will be looking to the guys in his corner thinking 'you didn't tell me it was going to be like this'."
Warren may well be right. Davis, after all, has never fought professionally outside of the United States. But surely, after all he has seen and come through, fighting on foreign soil hardly seems a road block?
Walsh would be foolish to think hostility will tame this product of Baltimore's streets. Davis has walked a path of much resistance to reach spectacular heights.

[Fenster]

After watching the press conference I think Floyd will have too much for Walsh. Surprised Floyd's 50th fight hasn't got more attention, the open workout at the York Hall was a bit embarrassing, I'd have thought loads of fans would've love to see Floyd workout, but anyway, he looked pretty sharp.

Not sure who the little smiley kid is that sits next to him all the time, Twank or someink?

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Davis has missed the weight, 2 ounces over and has about an hour left to shift it

http://www.boxingnewsonline.net/gerv...o-make-weight/

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He's failed to make weight on his second attempt as well


Gervonta Davis Fails to Make Weight Twice for Walsh Fight


By Keith Idec
Gervonta Davis was overweight twice Friday in London for his first defense of the IBF super featherweight title.
Baltimore's Davis (17-0, 16 KOs) was two ounces overweight on his first attempt. He had two full hours to come back to the British Boxing Board of Control scale to meet the 130-pound limit for his fight Saturday night against Liam Walsh.
He didn't use all of the alloted time, apparently because he thought he would make weight the second time. Davis still didn't meet the 130-pound limit and seemed stunned by the result on the scale.
England's Walsh (21-0, 14 KOs) made weight Friday and the title will at least be at stake for him. The unbeaten southpaw is Davis' mandatory challenger.
The 22-year-old Davis, who came to the scale the youngest American champion in boxing, was scheduled to defend his IBF super featherweight championship against Walsh at Copper Box Arena.
He could be stripped, however, due to his failure to make weight Friday.
Davis, who's promoted by retired superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr., won the title in his last fight. He dominated Puerto Rico's Jose Pedraza (22-1, 12 KOs) on his way to a seventh-round technical knockout victory January 14 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Showtime will televise the Davis-Walsh fight Saturday. Coverage is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.
Check back for an update on Davis' situation.




- See more at: http://www.boxingscene.com/gervonta-....W9khZmhj.dpuf

[Memphis]

Just reading that he's made it at the third time of asking. Apparently others weights were a bit off too.

[Alpha]

2 ounces ain't much (I wouldn't mind smoking it) but he struggled to shred it. Had to re weigh a couple of times.

[Spicoli]

Interesting how they'll air this. A split card with Showtime live afternoon with Davis v Walsh followed by Russell v Escandon from Maryland Assuming that as listing show. Little different but am glad the networks..for once..are not airing head to head, Crawford v Diaz prime time. FS1and Bein with live cards also Massive weekend of fisticuffs! If Walsh is half the body puncher he's been mentioned to be in a couple interviews he can make this interesting. But not sure he'll be strong and keeps low enough to keep Davis off as it goes. Davis is not without holes defensively but you pay harshly from blind spots. For a guy already anointed the next Mayweather..by Mayweather..he really fights nothing like him and looks to mix it up.

[Master]

Ryan Walsh v McCullough is on now