After May 28, will the partnership come to a bitter end? Davis will be fighting Rolando Romero inside the Barclays Center on the 28th. In a recently deleted tweet, Davis stated the bout would be the last one he has while under contract with Mayweather. “My contract is up, that’s why [Mayweather Promotions] wants me to fight this clown [Romero] so bad.”
Mayweather responded to the tweet, wishing him well in his future endeavors in the best way possible.
”Nothing lasts forever,” Mayweather told Fight Hype, via Boxing Scene. “I will always love Tank. I like him. Love him – look at him as a son. He has to do what’s best for him,” said Mayweather. “I feel like I’ve done a great job thus far, building him and putting him in good fights, great fights. He’s steady growing, he’s steady learning. I’m proud of him.”
How did we get to this point?
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Davis made his pro debut in 2013. In 2015, Mayweather met Davis during one of Adrien Broner’s training camps. Davis ended up joining Mayweather Promotions.
The spotlight was on Davis when he fought Francisco Fonseca in August 2017. On the Mayweather-Conor McGregor undercard, Davis beat Fonseca via knockout. Davis was stripped of the IBF super-featherweight title prior to the bout for not making weight.
Although he signed a contract for multiple bouts in a year, Davis only fought once in 2018. He won the WBA (Super) super-featherweight title against Jesus Cuellar. Davis started to feel frustrated for being inactive. He fought three times in 2019, with February against Hugo Ruiz the earliest fight of the three. Mayweather Promotions’ Leonard Ellerbe believed, at the time, that Davis was on the right path. The situation was dealt with accordingly, and Davis appeared to calm down.
“A lot was blown out of proportion and he’d be the first to admit it,” Ellerbe told ESPN. “It’s not anything to go into detail, there was a lot going on in his life. See, as media people and the fans, all they’re concerned about is guys fighting and fighting and fighting, but a lot of times things that go [on] behind the scenes that affect a young man’s, a young woman’s life. They’re not in a position to go out there and be the best that they can be.
“He became a father, for a young man – and this being his first child – you’re going through a lot of emotions, a lot is expected upon you. A lot of people looking up to you and you don’t want to let people down and, you know, just being a young man inspired to do all these other things. And again, you have to experience these things in life, learn from it. The most important thing, and where I’m so proud of him, he accepted responsibility for the actions that he took and what caused all of that.”
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Davis would beat Yuriorkis Gamboa in 2019 for the WBA (Regular) lightweight title, Leo Santa Cruz in 2020 for the WBA (Super) super-featherweight title, and Mario Barrios in 2021 for the WBA (Regular) super-lightweight title. This past December, Davis beat Isaac Cruz to retain the WBA (Regular) lightweight title. His bout against Romero will be his fourth straight Showtime pay-per-view event. The numbers have shown he can be a draw, even if he isn’t fighting names like Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia.
Davis may have the opportunity to leave Mayweather Promotions for good. Going out on one’s own can be tough. For Mayweather, he only got better. After leaving Bob Arum’s Top Rank in 2006, he formed Mayweather Promotions. The results were undeniable: a 50-0 record, a legendary resume, and a lot of money. Mayweather has proven that a gamble pays off, literally and figuratively.
One final nail in the coffin for the Davis and Mayweather relationship may have been the timing of two different press conferences. During the Davis-Romero press conference last month, Mayweather was in Dubai, promoting his exhibition bout against Don Moore. Davis felt that Mayweather was trying to steal the spotlight away from him. Mayweather quickly denied those claims in an interview with Fight Hype.
“It’s always called divide and conquer, and that’s been going on forever,” Mayweather stated, via DAZN. “I’ve always wanted the best for any fighter that’s under the PBC banner as well as the Mayweather Promotions banner. So I’ve always wanted the best for all fighters. And especially, you have never seen me push harder for a fighter like I push for my fighters. If I didn’t care, I would always go out there and bad-mouth my fighters.
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“I didn’t want the press conference to be on the same day, but (former UFC champion) Anderson Silva had to fly out because I was in Miami when he was in Miami. So he and Brent (from ONE Entertainment) said the only day they can do the press conference is Thursday, and they said we’ll pay you a million dollars cash. We just want to make sure you can do it. I wasn’t gonna do it Thursday, but they paid me a million dollars to do it Thursday.”
Now Davis is preparing for his final bout under the Mayweather banner. Will he have anything to say following the Romero fight, win or lose? If he decides not to stay with Mayweather Promotions, what is next for the power puncher? A healthy relationship at the time has appeared to turn sour. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out and the future ramifications a potential split could bring.
