Gervonta Davis inherits WBA lightweight title

Gervonta Davis (29-0-0, 27 KO) is the owner of a new belt, but it doesn’t seem that he is very proud of the way that it was obtained. As Davis was the WBA (regular) lightweight champion, the sanctioning body decided to simply bestow Devin Haney’s (31-0-0, 15 KO) vacated title upon him.

Haney chose to move up to super lightweight and so Tank was anointed as the full champion. Davis converted to Islam on Christmas Eve and announced that he would now go by the name Abdul Wahid.

“I don’t want this shit, I want blood,” said Davis on social media. Clearly the implication that he did not fully earn the title doesn’t sit well with the new WBA champ.

This type of promotion is somewhat common in boxing. For example, Terence Crawford (40-0-0, 31 KO) lost his undisputed welterweight status for choosing not to defending the IBF title against mandatory Jaron Ennis (31-0-0, 28 KO). So without a fight, Ennis was simply dubbed the IBF’s champion. Middleweight Erislandy Lara (29-3-3, 17 KO ) took possession of his title in the same way.

Davis is no stranger to the media spotlight. In addition to being one of the best and most sought-after boxers around, his personal life also generates a ton of controversy.

Spending time in prison for violating parole, Davis converted to Islam on Christmas Eve at the Hidayah Mosque in Manchester, England. While Davis has chosen a new Arabic name, he has not yet made that change legal.