When footage emerged of Floyd Mayweather training 21-year-old WBC lightweight titlist, Devin Haney, there was bound to be some pretty significant fallout from within the Mayweather team.
You see, Mayweather Promotions star, Gervonta “Tank” Davis, is the reigning WBA lightweight champ and a divisional rival to Haney.
Whether intentional or not, consider this move by Mayweather to be a direct slap in the face to Davis.
And the 25-year-old native of Baltimore clearly received this as a slap to the face.
“I’ve been doing well by my lonely…..both of their ass opps (opponents) anyway,” Davis declared via social media. “I’m ready to fight whoever….including Floyd. That’s not trolling, them facts…I was gonna do camp in Vegas, but now that’s over wit!”
In the training footage with Haney, conducted at Mayweather’s Las Vegas gym, Mayweather is seen working the pads with the young champion and offering advice. At one point, the future first-ballot Hall of Famer tells Haney, “You wanna be the best, I’m gonna show you how.”
It’s no secret that the relationship between Mayweather and Davis has been a rocky one for awhile. Davis has publicly expressed his frustrations at Mayweather for not getting him enough high-end fights. He has also questioned Mayweather’s general interest in actually promoting his career.
Things seemed to have worked themselves out a bit this year, but this apparent support of Haney definitely changes their working dynamic once again.
Mayweather, inspired by the death of his uncle and co-trainer Roger Mayweather, has expressed an interest in being a world-class trainer. In Haney, he would be aligning himself with the ideal pupil.
By all accounts, Haney is a serious student of the game and a disciplined, hard worker. He also has a steady, dependable demeanor. With the exception of one recent slip-up, where he talked about not ever losing to a “white boy,” he’s been squeaky-clean as a young athlete.
Davis, on the other hand, has been in and out of trouble with the law and has had a number of public relations black eyes. His level and consistency of focus have also been called into question from time to time.
Just in terms of who a trainer may want to work with, Haney seems to have the edge over Davis. However, Mayweather is Davis’ promoter and the attention given to Haney can be seen as taking away from Davis. After all, how does it look for your promoter to be working with someone who is your direct divisional rival?
There are definitely mixed messages to be found in Mayweather’s actions. The rivalry between the two fighters should definitely be stoked after this situation.
In a perfect boxing world, the rivalry between Davis and Haney would carry itself to a grudge match inside the ring. In this boxing world, though, an actual fight may not be all that likely to happen. Haney is a contract fighter for streaming service DAZN and promoter Eddie Hearn. Davis, on the other hand, is aligned with Premier Boxing Champions and their TV output deals with Showtime and Fox. It’s unlikely that a compromise could be had for the two meeting on neutral ground.
So, instead, Mayweather’s playing of both sides may just push Davis away once and for all. Maybe, in Mayweather’s mind, this is an even trade of Davis for Haney.
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