Gervonta Davis was an established world champion but still to emerge from the shadow cast by Floyd Mayweather when he flew to London to defend his IBF super-featherweight title against Liam Walsh in May 2017.
BT Sport’s then-recent investment in boxing and Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions had contributed to the move to showcase not only one of the world’s most exciting young fighters but, in his mentor Mayweather - then still an active fighter - one of the world’s very biggest names.
Walsh, then 31 and in his prime, had built his reputation when, in not dissimilar circumstances, in 2011 he defeated Paul Appleby in an exciting fight to launch the often-missed BoxNation. He had since continued to improve into a world-level fighter and, at a time when Davis was yet to truly be tested, was widely considered capable of either dethroning him or, in the event of defeat, proving that he was the real thing.
When Davis and Mayweather first flew to London to promote the upcoming fight at the Copper Box Arena, Mayweather, inevitably, had other commitments to fulfil. One involved him charging fans £100 for photos at a speaking engagement having showed up late after prioritising extra sleep. At another date the van his team used was set alight; he was also interviewed by Rio Ferdinand for BT Sport.
Come fight week Davis cut a quiet figure while Mayweather, partly owing to a spat with the composed Walsh, continued to dominate what was unfolding. It was on fight night at the Copper Box that Davis, indifferent to the hostile atmosphere created by the Cromer-based Walsh’s fans, instead finally outshone his attention-seeking promoter by walking to the ring dressed like Michael Jackson and to the strains of Beat It, and then by so clinically stopping Walsh in under three rounds.
21 мар 2024
