Tank pushes on to face Hugo Ruiz on February 9th instead.
The epic matchup between Abner Mares and Gervonta “Tank” Davis is not happening any time soon.
The three-division, four-time world champion Mexican star suffered an unfortunate injury in training camp, withdrawing from the bout. Mares injured his right elbow during training.
Davis now faces former world champion Hugo Ruiz to continue his campaign as one of the super featherweight division’s best. The loss of Mares takes a major wind out of the sails of the fight that Mares clamored for.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08yjGEfIEhY
Back in September, Mares exclusively told TSL about his intention to fight Davis and the boxing world went crazy. Davis is a fast-rising star and part of the two-headed monster of Mayweather Promotions along with Badou Jack.
Jack lost to Marcus Browne recently, suffering a severe facial laceration.
Mares Mattered
The boxing community has been very critical of Tank as of late. First, he missed weight, losing his belt during the Mayweather vs. McGregor “Money Fight”. Then he and boss Floyd Mayweather Jr. began a weird Twitter beef that showed some strains in the relationship.
Ironically, Davis began training and hanging out with Adrien Broner in South Florida for the Jesus Cuellar fight last April. Broner and Mayweather have a very strained relationship.
For Davis, who is the prized fighter of Mayweather Promotions CEO, Leonard Ellerbe, Mares would have been the perfect breakout fight.
Unfortunately, it will have to wait.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat this. I’m disappointed and devastated that I’ve injured my right elbow in sparring,’’ Mares said via a statement. “This is something that I haven’t had happen to me during my career and the feeling is just horrible. I will be going to see my doctor about this and am prepared to follow whatever recommendations and rehab that gets me back into the ring. I’m healthy, not afraid of doing the work and I will be back. This is a temporary setback. Don’t count me out.’’
Tank shut down a planned Baltimore open workout and moved his camp to Southern California, simply tweeting:
https://twitter.com/Gervontaa/status/1090455306843418624
Who Is Hugo Ruiz?
Ruiz is an all-action brawler who previously picked up a world title at super bantamweight in 2015. He most recently defeated Alberto Guevara in January on the Pacquiao vs. Broner card in a featherweight fight. Ruiz, who owns 18 first-round knockouts, floored Guevara in the opening minute and cruised to a near-shutout decision victory.
I think my opponent I have now is a better opponent than Abner..no disrespect
— Gervonta Davis (@Gervontaa) January 30, 2019
He had originally been slotted for an interim title shot against Jhack Tepora in January before Tepora missed weight. Now, Ruiz has the chance to fight for a belt against one of the most-feared punchers at 130-pounds. The 30-year-old from Sinaloa, Mexico stands at five feet, nine inches tall, nearly four inches taller than Davis, and has won three straight fights leading up to this fight.
“I trained for three months to fight a southpaw when I fought in January,” said Ruiz. “When the opponent changed, it was hard to adjust in 24 hours. After the fight I immediately went back to the gym, because you never know what’s going to happen in boxing. I’m 100 percent ready to knock out Gervonta Davis.”
Mares has engaged in memorable wars throughout his storied career. He was seeking to move up in weight and capture his fifth world title in a fourth weight class.
Davis vs. Mares spelled certain fireworks and an immediate boost to either fighter’s career.
Now Ruiz will look to further his name against a game Davis on February 9th.
