Boxing

Gervonta Davis Reveals Definitive Retirement Date Ahead of Jake Paul Fight

Gervonta "Tank" Davis could be out of boxing for good in the very near future.
Grant Young|
IMAGO / Hoganphotos

Reigning WBA lightweight champion Gervonta "Tank" Davis has made his opinion about his boxing career extremely clear over the past 12 or so months.

During a press conference for his March 1 fight against Lamont Roach Jr. at the end of 2024, Tank said to reporters, "After next year, I'm out of it. Yeah, out of this sport."

"S***'s trash," Davis added of boxing. "This s*** is trash, garbage. Fed up. I'm fed up with the whole s***. I just want to be able to make money and stay out the way, that's it. I want to be living without being seen.”

Many felt like this was just Gervonta going through a phase of burnout that would ultimately pass. And after Tank produced one of the poorest performances of his professional career against Roach on March 1 (which ended up in a majority draw that many believe Gervonta deserved to lose), most believed that this lackluster showing would spark a fire from the undefeated 30-year-old.

Gervonta Davis vs Lamont Roach
IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Since then, Gervonta has had to deal with some legal issues that have since cleared up, which seemed to take his attention away from the sweet science for a time. Then it was announced that he was going to fight Jake Paul in an exhibition bout on November 14.

Gervonta Davis Reveals Plans to Retire After Jake Paul Fight

Given that Tank is back to preparing for a fight, this might have made some feel like his thoughts about retirement are in the rearview.

But this is clearly not the case, as was conveyed in a September 26 X post from him.

Gervonta initially posted, "Boxing definitely did a turn..it went from this side to that side 😎..and this s*** has no loyalty so why would I care, I move accordingly BOXING IS DEAD😎👌".

This post has quickly gone viral, amassing about 140,000 views in just an hour and a half. It has also brought out some trolls, including one who responded and wrote, "Please retire then."

Tank responded to this hater and wrote, "I am 😊..in 8 weeks".

It sounds like Tank's plans to retire from back in December haven't changed, and this lucrative exhibition bout against Paul might be the final time he ever fights.

Of course, there's always a chance that Tank could get his spark back and continue his career after fighting Paul. Or he could sail off into the sunset with a lot of cash in his bank account.

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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.