Saturday, May 4

It’s Gervonta Davis’ universe and everyone else is just living in it.

That, again, was the conclusion it was tempting to draw in Las Vegas on the day of Saul Alvarez-Jaime Munguia, when Davis was an hour late to the press conference being staged to promote his fight, on June 15, with Frank Martin, and David Benavidez-Oleksandr Gvozdyk.

When he arrived, perhaps the most natural-born of all of the world’s active fighters immediately confronted Martin – and less through a desire to promote their fight, but because it is what comes naturally to him. If he wasn’t being paid millions to demonstrate his talents as one of the world’s finest fighters, Davis, no doubt, would be fighting on the streets of Baltimore, and he is already relishing the prospect of attempting to get into Martin’s head and the considerable test Martin will provide on fight night, because both are what Davis’ nature demands.

When they posed in front of the top table the often-menacing Davis very deliberately invaded Martin’s personal space. When they made their way behind it to their seats Davis again made sure that they came face to face and then slapped away Martin’s hand. “It’s time,” he said, repeatedly – not that Martin seemed excessively troubled. “It’s gon’ get real.”

Davis-Martin will be the 100th main event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena – which, to the mind of BoxingScene, is a superior venue to the T-Mobile Arena, largely on account of the extent to which the walls can still speak of unforgettable nights involving Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather, and more. When Davis fought there in 2015, when he stopped Recky Dulay inside a round, he was far from having established himself as one of the world’s leading fighters. The extent to which his growing profile is moving his closer to the likes of Tyson, Mayweather and others makes it seem fitting that he will follow in their footsteps by fighting there in the main event.

When they posed again towards the conclusion of Saturday’s press conference, Davis, as naturally as he did everything else, started shadowboxing and reminded Martin “You don’t like bodyshots; you from the suburbs”. The confidence similarly oozing from his trainer Calvin Ford added to the element of intimidation Martin was being forced to resist. 

Later that evening, at the T-Mobile Arena, Jessie Magdaleno had already been announced as “Diego” when Davis appeared on the big screen in the pre-fight dressing room of none other than “Canelo” Alvarez. The so-called title of “the face of boxing” has become one of the most common, and frankly strange, brags of the modern era for a culture in which bragging is second nature, but if Alvarez succeeded Mayweather in that position, then while he posed alongside him Davis – loudly cheered by the largely Mexican 17,492 crowd present – seemed the likeliest to be the next. 

Davis, similarly, drew the attention of the cameras when he was ringside during the main event, when at one point he started dancing to the music being played like he hadn’t a care in the world. Alvarez showed how much he still has to offer at the highest level during the course of 12 largely one-sided rounds against Munguia, but it is Davis – with potential rivalries against fighters like Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson – who seems almost certain to have the greater impact on his sport over the course of the coming years.

Before he left the T-Mobile Arena, Alvarez responded, when asked if he had spoken to Oscar De La Hoya since their confrontation at Wednesday’s press conference, “No, I don’t need to speak to him”. He also confirmed that he had repeatedly stood between rounds against Munguia because “I felt good”.