Gervonta Davis surprisingly sent a “good luck” message to Naoya Inoue today on X, wishing the unified super bantamweight champion the best of luck in his title defense against Ie Joon Kim this Friday at Ariake Arena, Koto-Ku in Tokyo, Japan.
(Credit: Naoka Fakuda)
‘The Monster’ Inoue doesn’t need much luck to defeat his replacement opponent Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) is not in the same league in terms of talent, nor is he on the level of many of the top 15 contenders at 122.
Tanks real intentions?
Fans are still questioning why Tim Inoue chose Kim as a replacement after Naoya’s scheduled opening opponent, Sam Goodman, suffered a cut and had to pull out of the fight two weeks ago. Indeed, a better fighter than Kim could have been chosen. It’s pretty sneaky that Gervonta is trying to get into Inoue’s good graces so he can fight him.
A lot of people find Tank’s cheering for Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) strange because he’s wanted to fight him for years. Top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter Naoia, 31, has shown no interest in moving down to lightweight to challenge Gervonta for his WBA belt.
The tank should waste no time trying to gain favor with Inoue, hoping that if he’s nice to him, he’ll go up to 130 or 135 for the mega-money fight. The Japanese star showed off her stripes. He doesn’t even want to move up to 126. If he’s not willing to move up to the featherweight to take on killer sharks at that weight class, he’s definitely not going to move up any higher to take on a predator like Tank Davis with no chance of winning.
Look at what the old Nonito Donner did to Naoya six years ago in their fight on November 7th, 2019, breaking his right orbital bone, cutting him above that eye and breaking his nose. Inoue looked like he had been in an accident. He was all messed up. Since then, Naoya has not risked his career.
Io NAOIA INOUE happy fam..
— Gervonta Davis (@Gervontaa) January 23, 2025