One of boxing's fastest rising stars is embarking on a new journey.
The Athletic reported and Sporting News confirmed that two-time super featherweight champion Gervonta Davis would be vacating his WBA title and move up to lightweight.
In what ended up being his last fight at 130 pounds, in front of a soldout crowd of around 15,000 people at Royal Farms Arena in his hometown of Baltimore, Davis (22-0, 21 KOs) scored a violent second-round TKO of Ricardo Nunez in July.
Things appeared to be heading towards a title unification bout between Davis and IBF titlist Tevin Farmer after both guys called each other out. Negotiations with the fight camps ended up going nowhere, which led Davis to go elsewhere and look to become a world champion in a new weight class.
There's no word on when the 24-year-old competes for the first time at 135 pounds but Davis stated at the beginning of the year that he wanted to compete three times. He began his 2019 campaign by knocking out late-replacement Hugo Ruiz with one second left in the first round in February and then his win against Nunez.
Moving up now will make the case louder for a fight with Davis and unified champion Vasiliy Lomachenko. Davis told TMZ in August that "it's time" for him and Lomachenko to lock horns with the "beginning of 2020" likely to be the best time for it to happen.
Before Saturday's unanimous decision win over Luke Campbell to become a three-belt titleholder, Lomachenko said he is interested in taking on "Tank".