By Keith Idec
If Gervonta Davis doesn’t make weight for his upcoming title defense against Abner Mares, the challenger’s trainer won’t allow him to face Davis.
Robert Garcia, Mares’ trainer, told co-hosts Gerry Cooney and Randy Gordon during an episode of their SiriusXM radio show Monday night that they won’t tolerate Davis missing weight again. Davis (20-0, 19 KOs) is scheduled to meet Mares (31-3-1, 15 KOs) in a 12-round, 130-pound title fight February 9 in Carson, California.
Baltimore’s Davis lost his IBF 130-pound championship at the weigh-in the day before he stopped Francisco Fonseca in the eighth round of their August 2017 fight in Las Vegas. The strong southpaw since has won the WBA “super” 130-pound title, which he’ll defend for the first time versus Mares.
Davis hasn’t fought since stopping Argentina’s Jesus Cuellar (28-3, 21 KOs) in the third round April 21 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Reporters are asking Garcia and Mares about the possibility of Davis failing to make weight because he gained a significant amount of weight from the time he last fought until the time he entered training camp late last year for the Mares match.
“Look, obviously Gervonta Davis has had that problem already,” Garcia told Cooney and Gordon during an “At the Fights” segment Monday night. “Look, I’m not gonna say that’s what’s gonna happen, because I think Gervonta Davis is gonna make weight. You know, it’s a big fight for him. It’s big for his first main event on Showtime, in a big arena, here in L.A. So, I don’t think he’ll fail ** weight. But, if that is the situation, look, other fighters, coaches, managers, whatever you wanna say, they will probably look at, ‘Oh, well maybe it’s an opportunity to make an extra couple hundred thousand dollars, you know, from Tank’s purse.’ But that’s not what we’re thinking about. We want him to make weight. And like I’m saying, I know he’s gonna make weight.”
If Davis doesn’t meet his contractual obligation, however, Garcia won’t permit Mares to move forward with their fight. The 24-year-old Davis already owns a size advantage over Mares, a 33-year-old, three-division champion who has moved up from featherweight (126 pounds) to the super featherweight division for a shot at Davis.
“If that comes to be the case,” Garcia explained, “one, two, three pounds overweight, then, well yeah, I don’t want Abner to fight him because, you know, we’re already moving up in weight to challenge the most dangerous guy in that division. And then, if he doesn’t make weight, then that means he’s gonna have a two- or three-pound advantage over us, which is gonna be a big difference. So, I’m one that will not allow my fighter to fight if Gervonta doesn’t make weight. I don’t think we’re gonna need it. I don’t think we’re gonna have to go through it, because I think Davis will make weight.”
Showtime will televise the Davis-Mares match as the main event of a doubleheader from Dignity Health Sports Park (formerly StubHub Center).
2023-10-22 14:39:17
