The Ring has learned that Gervonta “Tank” Davis is planning a summer return in the United Kingdom, multiple sources confirmed. Davis, the 29-year-old power punching southpaw, is viewed as the face of boxing. He will return after over a year out of the ring.

With Premier Boxing Champions’ multi-year deal with Amazon Prime Video in December, 2023, Davis will be a headlining attraction to the new venture.

He saw a very promising 2023 derailed when he pled guilty in May 2023 to four counts of traffic violations stemming from a November 2020 crash that injured four people.

The Ring’s No. 2-rated lightweight contender, Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) last fought on April 22, 2023, when he stopped Ryan Garcia in seven rounds in a lightweight megafight in Las Vegas that drew 1.2 million pay-per-view buys.

Tank handed Garcia’s his first defeat, after beginning 2023 by handing Hector Luis Garcia his first career setback in January 2023.

No opponent is set yet.

Davis has a history of fighting in England. In May 2017, he knocked out Liam Walsh in three in his first IBF junior lightweight title defense at the Copper Box Arena, in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, in Middlesex.

Davis is one of boxing’s prime attractions. Despite a truncated 2023, he was among the top nominees for Fighter of the Year by RingTV.com and the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA).

The success of the 1.2 million pay-per-view buys for the Davis-Garcia fight is a good indication.

A million buys are considered today’s gold standard in the pay-per-view world. Davis-Garcia took place before a sellout crowd of 20,842 at the T-Mobile Arena. The gate revenue was $22.8 million. The 1.2 million Davis-Garcia buys translated to $102 million, and a total revenue of $136.8 million when considering merchandise sales, international sales and commercial revenue—and that’s an estimate on the low side. The total promotion generated close to $150 million.

The fight took place among a sea of celebrities—the kind Mike Tyson used to draw in his prime. The T-Mobile Arena was filled with NFL stars, like the Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, movie stars and A-listers galore.

Davis has hardly been challenged, other than by Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz in December 2021. He currently holds a minor WBA title, though he has grown beyond titles.

He is a compact, lightweight Mike Tyson. He has stopped 27 of 29 opponents, the only two survivors being the aforementioned Cruz and German Meraz, who went the full six against Davis in October 2014 in Davis’ ninth pro fight. Still, Meraz tasted the canvas twice in the fight.

Davis has handed seven fighters their first defeat, including former IBF junior lightweight titlist Jose Pedraza, WBA junior lightweight titlist Mario Barrios, Rolly Romero, Ryan Garcia and Hector Luis Garcia, the former WBA junior lightweight titlist.

Tank’s resume also includes the first stoppage victory over Leo Santa Cruz.

So far in his career, the only one who has gotten in Davis’ path, however, has been Tank himself. He was stripped of the IBF junior lightweight title on the scales against Francisco Fonseca, on the Floyd Mayweather-Connor McGregor undercard in August 2017, and his recent brush with the law. In July 2023, Davis was released from a detention center on Friday, July 14, 2023, after serving 44 days after a judge ruled on June 1 that he violated the terms of his house arrest.

According to multiple sources who know the fighter, Davis has been back diligently training and working hard to return this summer in the United Kingdom.

Joseph Santoliquito is hall of fame, award-winning sportswriter who has been working for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Follow @JSantoliquito [twitter.com]

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