Boxing

Eddie Hearn Makes Honest Admission About Gervonta Davis' Star Power

Matchroom Boxing's Eddie Hearn got honest about Gervonta "Tank" Davis' ability to sell tickets.
Grant Young|
Eddie Hearn is seen during a press conference at The Glasshouse in Surfers Paradise on January 06, 2025.
Eddie Hearn is seen during a press conference at The Glasshouse in Surfers Paradise on January 06, 2025. | IMAGO / AAP

While there's little question that Gervonta Davis is among the biggest active American boxers in terms of star power, there's a lot of debate about just how much of a star Davis really is when it comes to competing with more global icons of the sport.

Here are the (reported) facts: the March 1 fight between Tank and Lamont Roach Jr. — which took place at the Barclays Center, New York City, and ended in a controversial majority draw — drew a total gate of about $6.42 million and had 260,000 PPV buys.

Fans were at odds over these reported numbers, as some asserted that these numbers pale in comparison to what Canelo Alvarez and some of England's top boxers typically produce. Others stated that no other American boxer is doing close to that domestically.

Few know the business of boxing better than Matchroom Boxing chairman Eddie Hearn. And during an April 12 interview with YSM Sports Media, Hearn got honest about the stardom and selling power that Davis brings to the table.

"When you look at the success that Gervonta Davis has had — I mean look, we don't always get on — but Gervonta Davis ia a huge ticket seller. And he has proven that in Vegas, in Barclays Center, in Atlanta. And [Jaron Ennis] can do the same," Hearn said.

It sounds like Hearn doesn't want to discredit the stardom Davis has amassed to this point, and is instead more keen to give him his flowers, regardless of how he feels about Tank's March 1 fight against Roach.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.