Everything is set for Gervonta Davis’ next world title defense.
Davis has always been penciled in to defend his WBA super featherweight title this summer in a homecoming fight in Baltimore, but past reports indicated that Yuriorkis Gamboa was a possibility to be Davis' opponent. With the announcement that Davis has been ordered by the WBA to fight mandatory challenger Ricardo Nunez, plans were slightly changed.
Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe told Fightful that Davis is in fact going to fight Nunez on July 27 at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore with the fight being televised on Showtime.
“He’s going to be fighting July 27 and he’s going to be fighting on Showtime. He’s the WBA champion and we have a mandatory. We have to do what we have to. It’s not ideally a situation we want to have, but this is all part of the process of enveloping the fighter. In this particular case, we wanted to be able to take him back home. He has a tremendous following globally. The fans in Baltimore have been anxious, and the D.C. and Virginia area, have been anxious to see him come home in a homecoming fight. This is a terrific opportunity for him and we want to continue to keep him busy and fight in the biggest fights possible,” Ellerbe said.
Nunez, ranked No. 2 by the WBA at 130 pounds, has not lost a fight since 2015, emerging victorious in his last 10 bouts. During his lengthy win streak, Nunez has held WBC Latino Silver lightweight and interim WBC Latino super featherweight titles.
According to Ellerbe, there are already plans in place to have Davis fight a third time this year in the fall and he hopes the fight is a unification bout. That would mean potential fights against the likes of WBC champion Miguel Berchelt, WBO champion Masayuki Ito and IBF champion Tevin Farmer, who has had a long rivalry with Davis.
Those plans aren’t set in stone, however, as Ellerbe said Davis would get the biggest fight possible if a unification fight isn’t made in the fall.
“Hopefully, if he can get through his mandatory, we’re going to bring him back in the fall and he’s going to be fighting in a big fight in the fall. I hope it will be a unification fight. If not, everyone is calling him out and we’re going to make the biggest fights possible for Gervonta Davis. He has a very big career ahead of him and we’re so excited about what the future lies for him,” Ellerbe said.
Davis has held the WBA title since April 2018 when he defeated Jesus Cuellar at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. He has made just one defense of the title, a first-round knockout win over Hugo Ruiz back in February on a Showtime-televised bout.
