Ellerbe: Barrios Can Fight His Ass Off – But Tank is Going To F— Him Up!

Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe was alongside Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s flawless ride fighting his way to becoming a five-division champion.

Ellerbe is spearheading another similar operation with intent to guide Gervonta Davis in becoming a champion across multiple divisions.

Davis (24-0, 23 KOs) has mostly campaigned at 126 and 130 pounds throughout his career and picked up various titles along the way. In his last two fights against Yuriorkis Gamboa and Leo Santa Cruz, Davis fought as a 135 pounder.

For his next act, the Baltimore-bred boxer is moving up in weight yet again to fight Mario Barrios Barrios (26-0, 17 KOs) at 140 pounds on Saturday on Showtime pay-per-view ($74.99) at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.  

Ellerbe said Davis’ quest and crusade to conquer across a series of divisions is a feat few would even be allowed to accomplish. 

“Gervonta is doing the unthinkable. There isn’t a 130-pounder out there that is moving to 140 pounds,” Ellerbe told BoxingScene.com in an interview. 

“More importantly, no one’s promoter would even allow for them to move up. Can you imagine [Top Rank head] Bob [Arum] letting [WBC junior lightweight champion Oscar] Valdez go up to 140 pounds to fight Mario Barrios? That sh!t would never happen in a million years. Most of Tank’s fights in the future will be at 130 and 135. If there is a big fight to be made, we’re going to do that all day.”

Davis will be giving up 4 ½ inches in height and 3 ½ inches in reach when he faces Barrios. But what Davis may lack in size he makes up for with bulldozing power. 

One of the storylines to monitor in the fight will be if Davis will be able to bruise the bigger Barrios and score yet another knockout. 

Ellerbe believes he will. 

“Barrios is undefeated. He’s a very good fighter. He poses certain things. He has height and reach and length,” he said. “Barrios can fight his ass off. Tank is going to f— Mario Barrios up. Tank is a pay-per-view star. Tanks is the most exciting fighter in the entire sport. Period!” 

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com