Gervonta Davis' trainers ready to win in Las Vegas with Baltimore's youth top of mind
BALTIMORE -- When you think about some of the biggest fights in boxing history over the years, you think Fury vs. Wilder, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, Holyfield vs. Tyson, or Ali vs Frazier if you want to go back even more. Come Saturday night, you can add Gervonta "Tank" Davis vs. Ryan Garcia to that list.
This fight is one of the most anticipated showdowns the sport has ever seen—and Baltimore is at the center of it.
For Gervonta Davis' longtime trainers, Calvin Ford and Kenny Ellis, they've been talking about a fight of this magnitude for years. WJZ's Rick Ritter sat down with the duo for an exclusive, local interview. They joined the WJZ anchor over the phone from Las Vegas, which is where Davis will fight Ryan Garcia on Showtime Pay-per-view Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Rick Ritter: "When I first met you guys seven years ago, all you kept talking about was a Godzilla type fight & putting the city on a big stage. Come Saturday, it's here. How do you feel about finally getting to this stage?"
Kenny Ellis: "It means a lot. Showing everyone in Baltimore that dreams can really come true if you stick with it. Letting them know they can be here, too"
Calvin Ford: "We're sitting in the center of it. We're in the middle of the storm and we are taking it in.
Kenny Ellis: "It happened so fast. I mean back in the '90s, you were wondering what it felt to be around Mike Tyson. It's the same feeling. Tank is today's Mike Tyson, in a sense."
Perhaps, no one knows the boxing champion better than his two coaches. He could be called the "current Mike Tyson," delivering that type of power with 28 wins—26 of them by knockout. The pair even helped raise Gervonta. They have been by his side since Davis was a young kid. Some nights, Davis would even sleep on the floor of Ford's gym at the Upton Boxing Center in West Baltimore, which is where Tank trained growing up. Climbing through the rankings over the years and rising to the top was far from easy. The two coaches haven't forgotten that.
Kenny Ellis: "It's a bit of relief because the struggle was real, man, and we sacrificed so much along the way."
Rick Riter: "For the two of you to be here together, does it have extra special meaning? I know you guys have a heck of a bond & have been through a lot side by side."
Kenny Ellis: "When I first met Calvin, he wasn't in it for money, he had a passion for the kids and the sport just like I did, and it worked. It was perfect chemistry."
Calvin Ford: "It's different because with boxing stars. Usually, we talk about one coach. There's two of us and there are others we're bringing with us. I call them our 12 disciples. We're just trying to show the city that if we work together as a team, nobody can stop us. That's the message we're trying to bring to Baltimore. We have to work together, like really work together, to make things possible."
The passion that both Ford and Ellis have for the city's youth is undeniable. When they return from their pay-per-view fights, children in the community line up at the Upton Boxing Center on Pennsylvania Avenue in West Baltimore and wait to greet them. Often, some of them will inquire about signing up for boxing lessons. The children look at how the two coaches have believed in Davis and what they have helped him achieve. It gives hope for many, who are just looking for an opportunity.
Calvin Ford: "The kids are calling us from back home and asking us when are we coming back. We tell them we are working. We don't want to discourage them like we're not coming back home, because we are. We're trying to open up the doors for the next ones to come through,"
Ford and Ellis can't help but think about the city violence, even as they gear up for the biggest fight of their careers.
Calvin Ford: "The youth can change this situation. They just need guidance and help. They are looking for it. We're going to do everything we can to give them those resources."
Rick Ritter: "What does being on this stage do for kids in Baltimore City?"
Kenny Ellis: "It lets them know if they stick with it, they can go all the way. To just stay positive, dedicated to your craft, and you can be here too."
Calvin Ford: "We had to give them a different narrative that the city isn't really like that. The goal is the youth, the kids. The kids are our goal. You just have to put the right people around them, listen to them, be there for them and the rest will happen."
An opportunity and someone to believe in them is something every kid across Baltimore deserves.
Calvin Ford: "You have to give them something to believe in and show them you believe in them. "I remember Tank said, 'Coach, just believe in me. Believe in me, coach.' He said this when he was little. We believed in him and now look where we are."
Rick Ritter: "Prediction time. What are you guys thinking Saturday night?"
Kenny Ellis: "I'm going to tell the people what they want to hear. We're going to smash Garcia. 6, 7 rounds. I'm calling a knockout."
Ford laughed as his partner delivered his knockout prediction with confidence.
Calvin Ford: "Ya'll know me. I like punishment. I train him for punishment through 12 rounds. So, my prediction is he'll win sometime between round 1 to 12."
Ford and Ellis are confident, funny and masters of their craft. It's easy to understand why Ford and Ellis are two of the most polarizing coaches in the sport. And with perhaps the biggest name in boxing today to go along with that—the sky is the limit for Team GTD.
