It appears there might be a clear vision for Gervonta "Tank" Davis' next opponent in 2023. This would mark a third fight, which is the first time Davis would fight three times in a year since 2019, which was prior to his fighting on pay-per-view.
With Devin Haney's departure from the lightweight division, it appears his next opponent might just be Isaac 'Pitbull' Cruz, a rematch of a prior bout. FightHype.com recently caught up with Calvin Ford who seemed to give off the impression this might be the optimal path, given the lack of suitable opponents for Davis currently.
"My (choice) is Pitbull (Isaac Cruz)," said Ford to FightHype.com. "“Devin is going up. Shakur and Lomachenko will probably do it [fight for the vacant WBC lightweight title] next year.”
Tank's recent lineup of opponents, including Ryan Garcia, Rolando Romero, Mario Barrios, as well as Isaac Cruz, all of which ending up on pay-per-view. Now it appears the goal might be to go to even bigger venues in the future with Davis such as football stadiums.
While Isaac Cruz might not have the fame to command a stadium-filling fight, the Mexican fighter has a solid fanbase in Los Angeles, California, that has grown organically and has a style and a narrative with Davis that makes him a compelling opponent. Another motivation could be the support Cruz gets from Mexican and Mexican-American fight fans who believe in Cruz and would want to come out and support him after a close fight with Davis in which Davis broke his hand in the fight. The fact that some people think Cruz could've won the first fight makes this fight interesting.
The rematch also seems motivated by Tank's desire for redemption against Cruz, as despite winning the fight, it appears that he wants to prove the the injury is why the fight was close. While Cruz's recent victory over Giovanni Cabrera was less than stellar as Cruz won a split-decision that was very close and showed he has a limited ability to cut the ring off.
Critics have poked fun at Davis' resume as he yet to face certain lightweight contenders with various accolades, and some speculate it could be because of the amount of money he is making that he is being moved carefully to keep the high-profile high grossing bouts ongoing. Whether true or not, some have a perception that Davis was deliberately seeking fights with little risk of defeat, while being in one of the most interesting division, lightweight, that has stars like Shakur Stevenson, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Devin Haney, and contenders such as William Zepeda, Keyshawn Davis, Frank Martin and Raymond Muratalla.
As of right now, this is just a rumor, but given the very active schedule Davis has kept a rematch against Cruz isn't that bad of an option.
