Gervonta Davis: I want to be a pay-per-view star
Gervonta Davis checks in from camp ahead of his April 21 fight on Showtime.
On why he decided to do training camp with Kevin Cunningham...
“I was actually going to go to Colorado to train, but Adrien invited me to come down here to West Palm Beach to check out the camp. He said I should come to Florida to train with him and Kevin. So I came down, I saw Kevin’s routine and I really liked it.
“There were a lot of distractions in Baltimore and I think they were a problem for me. I needed to straighten my head and focus on the things I have to work on. It was time to set my camp somewhere else.
“I needed a change after my last fight. I let myself down. I learned to be a different fighter, more responsible. I let others down, but think I let myself down more than anything.”
On becoming one of the youngest champions in boxing…
“I was one of the youngest world champions in boxing. It is not that I was not prepared for it. I was just so young and it happened so quickly. I had to adapt to it. Live up to the hype. It was hard.
On his opponent, Jesus Cuellar…
“I’m not really into researching my opponents—or other fighters other than the ones that I like. I just train hard and fight who is in front of me. I know a little bit about him. I know that he can hit, that he’s not going to back down and that he’s a tough opponent. I believe he’s my toughest opponent to date. On April 21, we will see if he is ready. I know for sure I will be.”
On life in training camp when not at the gym…
“We have a big house that the coach provided for us. We all live together—Adrien and I. We go swimming and to the movies. We just chill. We are being responsible. No South Beach, no clubbing. Just training hard.”
On his relationship with Adrien Broner…
“What people don’t know is that I’ve been around Adrien since I was younger. I looked up to him. When Adrien came on the scene, he was super sharp and fast. I remember him. He used to come to the amateur tournaments.
“I used to watch Adrien and Floyd Mayweather on television. I fought on Floyd’s undercard and now I am training with Adrien and we are fighting on the same card. It feels great but I am still amazed by all of it. I am soaking it all in and enjoying the ride.
“Adrien is like a big brother to me. We are just like a little brother, big brother. We are very competitive. We do not say it but we always want to outdo each other. For example, I usually run faster than he does, but sometimes he beats me. Yesterday he ran so fast I could not catch him. So today, I took the lead and ran even faster. We push each other to our best.”
On his plans for the future…
“I want to win more belts. I want to become a big star in boxing. I am going to put my work in the gym, put on a great performance in the ring and get back on track to become a world champion again.
“Being a world champion again is just a step closer towards my goal: I want to be a pay-per-view star. I want to be able to fight on pay-per-view against the big fighters and do big numbers.”