Baltimore Boxing Champion Gervonta Davis Gears Up For Big Fight Back Home
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Boxing champion Gervonta Davis is getting ready for his big fight back home in Baltimore.
Davis is the youngest world champion in boxing.
It was hard work and dedication that pushed him to the top, his coach, Calvin Ford said. Now, with the big match just a month away, the city, Davis and Ford are getting ready for the event.
Ford and Davis' journey started at Upton Boxing Center on Pennsylvania Avenue. Davis, also known as Tank, has been training with Ford since he was seven.
"He works hard. He works very hard, he understands that working hard in the gym is half the fight," Ford said.
Davis escaped the streets and rose through the ranks, becoming a two-time super featherweight world champion with an undefeated record, serving as an inspiration to young fighters like Semari Everette.
"Every time he sees me he says he had done what I was doing right now so it just gives me more inspiration to do it," Everette, who also goes by Time Machine, said.
On July 27, Tank is bringing his title back home to Baltimore and defending it against Ricardo Nunez at the Royal Farms Arena.
The importance of that gesture isn't lost on Coach Ford.
"Him coming back doing what he doing, coming back bringing a championship home, that's showing he really cares about Baltimore," he said.
Davis' talent makes the headlines, but his impact is much deeper.
"The fact that he's coming home, it almost makes it realistic to kids that I can be a champion too because they get to see it right in their hometown," said Rashaan Brave, the chief of special facilities for Baltimore's parks department.
Coach Ford plans on training with Davis for a little bit in Baltimore before packing up and heading to Florida to get ready for the big match.