Gervonta Davis shocked the boxing world when he announced he plans to retire at the end of 2025.
Davis returns in March when he makes the latest defence of his WBA lightweight title against Lamont Roach, but it seems that there may only be a couple fights left for him after that if he does indeed stick to his retirement plan.
That has now led to a claim that ‘Tank’ is only choosing to hang up the gloves in order to avoid having to take on one man in particular.
The fighter in question is Floyd ‘Kid Austin’ Schofield, the undefeated American prospect who faces Shakur Stevenson for the WBC lightweight title on February 22.
Schofield’s father Floyd Sr plays a big part in his son’s career, and he has told TalkSport that Davis personally told him he doesn’t want to take on ‘Kid Austin.’
“Gervonta said ‘I would never get in the ring with that guy’. And two years ago I told the world that when Floyd gets up to that level where he’s a mandatory to Gervonta, Gervonta will retire.
“And that’s exactly the same thing that is happening right now because anybody that has seen Floyd, the only one that has stepped up to the plate is Shakur.”
Floyd Sr then claimed that Davis isn’t the only fighter that is avoiding his son, revealing who else has been reluctant to take him on.
“Everybody else who has seen Floyd [ducked him]. He buckled Devin Haney [in sparring] and Devin ran up two weight classes to get away from him.
“Jojo Diaz made excuses to get away from him. You’re all going to see something. I’m not saying he is the greatest now, but I’m saying through the lessons and experience, he’s going to become the greatest boxer of all time.”
The true skills of Schofield will be clear when he takes on Stevenson next month. A win for Shakur could have paved the way for a unification clash with Davis, but it seems that ‘Tank’ has no intention of facing his fellow world champion.
