Gervonta Davis joins Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia and more as latest young American star to struggle in the ring

When Teofimo Lopez Jr. edged out Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2020, it seemed the time of the young stars had arrived in and around the lightweight division. Lopez’s win was the marquee accomplishment for a crop of extremely talented youngsters that also included Devin Haney, Shakur Stevenson, Ryan Garcia and Gervonta “Tank” Davis. Now, nearly four and a half years later, the careers of all of those young stars seems up in the air, and it feels as though none of them have capitalized on their potential, even as some have reached the heights of unified or even undisputed champion status.

Davis was the most recent of the group to step in the ring, fighting to a draw with Lamont Roach Jr. That Davis only managed a draw against a +900 underdog was shocking, but even more shocking was that he was lucky to manage even that result. After being hit by a few Roach punches in the ninth round, Davis took a knee, a by-the-rules knockdown. Instead, the referee decided there was no knockdown after Davis went to his corner to have hair grease wiped from his eye.

Had the knockdown been called correctly, Davis would have suffered the first loss of his career and lost his WBA lightweight title in the process. It was a terrible night for Davis, who has already faced a fair amount of criticism for failing to take on the best available opposition while becoming one of the faces of boxing.

To get to that high-profile status, Davis had to navigate multiple allegations of domestic violence as well as a hit-and-run incident that led to a brief house arrest, only for Davis to violate the terms of that house arrest and serve the rest of his sentence behind bars.

Why Gervonta Davis’ controversial knee against Lamont Roach was a symptom of bigger problems for ‘Tank’

Brian Campbell

Davis’ most high-profile win is his April 2023 knockout of Ryan Garcia. Both fighters came to that fight undefeated and with considerable fanbases before Davis dropped Garcia in the third round before finishing him with a body shot in the seventh.

Garcia had entered that fight as a crossover star, having built a considerable following of non-boxing fans thanks to his embrace of social media. While many old-school boxing fans resisted the idea of a young, likable fighter using social media, rather than in-ring exploits, to bring fans in, it was a good thing to see a fighter embrace modern technology for more than petty internet beefs.

Unfortunately, the loss to Davis seemed to break something in Garcia. He quickly became an extreme right-wing conspiracy theorist on his social media, claiming to have evidence of elite pedophile rings and the existence of aliens.

Garcia’s odd behavior ramped up ahead of his April 2024 fight with Haney, who had become undisputed lightweight champion before moving up to junior welterweight and capturing the WBC title.

Garcia, a fighter who had previously sought treatment for mental health struggles and talked about issues with alcohol, was repeatedly seen drinking in nightclubs leading up to the fight while also continuing to spout conspiracy theories on social media. After better Haney that he would make weight for the fight, Garcia missed weight by more than three pounds — appearing to drink from a beer bottle as he weighed in — leaving him ineligible to win the title.

Garcia then won the fight with Haney, using his trademark left hook to drop Haney multiple times en route to a majority decision victory in the best performance of his career. While the result was already tainted as a result of missing weight, it was thrown out entirely after it was revealed that Garcia failed a pre-fight drug test for performance-enhancing drugs.

Neither man has fought since, with Garcia serving a one-year suspension and Haney recovering and seeking legal remedies for Garcia’s actions. Both have now been booked for fights on the same May 2 card with the intention of setting up a rematch.

Stevenson, undefeated and a current WBC lightweight champion and former junior lightweight and featherweight champ, has not shared the ring with any of his fellow young stars. Despite his accomplishments, it feels as though Stevenson’s stock has never been lower.

Stevenson is a preternaturally talented fighter with arguably the best defensive skills in the game. But those skills have translated into a series of uninspiring performances that have left Stevenson showered with boos for three consecutive fights due to a passive approach in the ring.

Stevenson has been calling for a fight with Davis for years and, unsurprisingly, did so again after Davis’ draw with Roach. Despite both men taking reputational hits of late, the fight would still do good business, though it may not produce much action.

As for Lopez, the man whose win over Lomachenko seemed to be the moment that ushered in the era of these young talents, his reign atop lightweight ended one fight after taking three world titles off of “Loma” when he suffered a shocking upset loss to unheralded George Kambosos Jr.

Lopez claimed to have been the victim of a conspiracy against Kambosos, a claim that falls apart when you realize all involved players would have much rather seen the “money fighter” get the win to set up bigger fights.

Two fights later, Lopez was arguably gifted a split decision win over Sandor Martin. Two fights after that, Lopez barely scraped by Jamaine Ortiz in a defense of his WBO junior welterweight title. Gone was the dominant Lopez that rocketed to the top of lightweight division, replaced with a fighter who seemed unable to effectively fight men who showed the slightest bit of defensive movement.

All the while, Lopez has been surrounded by personal drama involving his family while consistently making bizarre statements and also announcing his retirement multiple times. In addition, Lopez has taken to making several statements that could only charitably called “mildly racist” toward Black fighters.

It’s impossible to deny that all of these fighters have experienced considerable success in their careers. Aside from Garcia, their walls are decorated with multiple world championships. Despite that, none have risen to the competitive heights expected less than five years ago, while all have faced compounding issues outside the ring.

In an era where huge fights are happening at an increasingly rapid pace, there is still time for everyone to hit the heights they are capable of, but it is going to take a continued evolution of their skills, an increased willingness to take risks, and a devotion to continuing their maturation outside the ring.