Mayweather Promotions head Leonard Ellerbe believes that Gervonta Davis will “f— Mario Barrios up” when they fight this weekend.
Davis has mostly fought at 126lbs and 130lbs for his career, but is moving up to 140lbs for the clash with Barrios, with the WBA interim belt at stake.
‘Tank’ fought his last two bouts at 135lbs, and his move up again has led Teofimo Lopez to claim that he is moving around the divisions to avoid the toughest fights while racking up belts and wins.
Ellerbe, however, sees his strategy as maximising his talent in a way other boxers have not matched.
Speaking to BoxingScene.com, he said: “Gervonta is doing the unthinkable. There isn’t a 130-pounder out there that is moving to 140 pounds.
“More importantly, no one's promoter would even allow for them to move up. Can you imagine [Top Rank head] Bob [Arum] letting [WBC junior lightweight champion Oscar] Valdez go up to 140 pounds to fight Mario Barrios? That s— would never happen in a million years.
“Most of Tank’s fights in the future will be at 130 and 135. If there is a big fight to be made, we’re going to do that all day.”
Ellerbe is confident of his fighter’s prospects, but does not believe the result is an easy one to get.
“Barrios is undefeated. He’s a very good fighter. He poses certain things. He has height and reach and length,” he said.
“Barrios can fight his ass off. Tank is going to f— Mario Barrios up. Tank is a pay-per-view star. Tanks is the most exciting fighter in the entire sport. Period!”