BALTIMORE, Md. — Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis’ is doing something Saturday he has never done in his boxing career. He is jumping up two weight classes to fight at 140 lbs.
"[I'm] trying to be the best I can be. Just to see how great I am as a fighter," he said.
The undefeated Baltimore native takes on Marrio Barrios, on Showtime pay-per-view, Saturday night inside Atlanta’s State Farm Arena. Barrios is the World Boxing Association super lightweight champ.
WMAR-2 Sports Reporter Shawn Stepner spoke with Davis one-on-one on Thursday.
"I feel great. I feel excited. I’m excited to go out there and put on a great performance," said Davis from Atlanta.
The 26-year-old 4-time world champion Davis is 24-0 with 23 knockouts. He is currently the WBA 'regular' lightweight champion and 'super' super featherweight champ. A victory on Saturday would give him a title in a third weight class.
What would a win show the boxing world?
"That I’m a, I want to say, an elite fighter. I’m one of the top guys. I think I’ve proved that already, but I want to say probably pound-for-pound. I don’t know. Just show them that I’m probably one of the best that’s fighting on TV," he answered.
The 5-foot-5 power-punching Davis has never fought someone as tall as the 5-10, 26-year-old Barrios or with a longer reach than his 71 inches.
"He’s young. He’s strong. He’s a champion. He is tall. He is definitely a great opponent."
When Tank faces him you know he’ll carry his hometown with him.
"I always fight for Baltimore. I do it for the city. I want to bring a lot of positive light to the city," he said. "There will be a lot of people from Baltimore here in Atlanta come Saturday night. It’s going to be great for the city. It’s going to be great for the sport. Overall we all win."
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
