The volume. Boxing with Chris Mannox is presented by fan Duel. It's NFL playoff time and there's no better place to get into the action than fan Duel. The app is safe, secure, and easy to use. FanDuel has exclusive offers, boosts and more all month long. When you win, you'll get paid fast. Fandel has a lot of ways to play, like the spread money line over under his team totals, player props, so much more. Jump into the action anytime during the game with live betting, combine multiple bets in the same game in the same game parlay and try out same game parlay plus. And now fan Duel is live in Ohio, so people in Ohio get in on the action immediately use the promo code boxing That's how they know. I'll send you and download the fan Duel app today to start making every moment more Welcome back to another Boxing with Chris Mannox. As always, you can listen to the show live on the AMP app. Just follow Chris Mannix on AMP. This is Boxing with Chris Manning. Somebody punched him in the face. Ampy Joshua is a composed and ferocious finishers. What's this is a heavy way hosted by s I S. Chris Mannix. That was my moments Now with interviews, analysis and everything going on in the world of boxing. When you have talent, you are given another chance. Here's Chris Mannix. Before we begin this episode of Boxing with Chris Mannix, Sergio Mora has a statement you'd like to read. M hmm I, Sergeon Mora, have decided to return to your struggling podcast for the sake of your rabbit and famished boxing fans in dire need of my boxing knowledge coming from the sweet scientists and a former champion in myself, and for that reason, I am back. You're just bored. I'm a lot of things, mannic aborting one of I mean, your kids are around all week. It's Christmas vacation. I'm not bored. I'm just, you know, to find another word for it. I'm struggling. I'm struggling like your ratings. Sergio Mora, the former junior middleweight title holder, the Zone broadcast champion, not title holder champion. I beat a champion, while the title holders you pick up a vacant strap. I beat a champion to become a champion. Rephrase that please, Sergio Mora, who beat Vernon Forest before forking over his title three months later because he spent too much time in Las Vegas. Is here also the Zone broadcaster back after a month long hiatus, too Uh to join the show. We get a lot to get into today, though, Sergio, because it's been a tough week in boxing, and I want to begin with the news that broke on Wednesday, which is that Javonte dave Us was arrested in Parkland, Florida, on charges of domestic violence. According to a police report, Gavante struck a woman on the side of her face, causing a cut on her lip. This was not a woman that lived at his home. We don't know the identity because there are laws against that. Um Javante allegedly did that the woman. There's a nine one one call that was released when the woman was screaming He's going to kill me. Javante on Instagram post, which as we record this has been deleted as denied these allegations. As of right now as we record this, the fight UH Javante has schedule for January seven against Textor Luis Garcia is proceeding as planned, So Sergio, not the first time Javante Davis has been involved in domestic violence. Give me your reaction to what happened with Tank. Well, you touched on it. It's not the first time he was accused of something similar. Our next girlfriend. We all saw that video him at a basketball game when he, uh, he got physical with another woman. I believe it was is the mother of his children. I don't know, but we've seen it before. So the history is there, The record is there, so you can't you can't deny the fact that that Tank has anger issues. He said it already on record that he has anger issues. A lot of fighters have anger issues, but fighters that are on the championship level know how to control that, their issues, their emotions. They know how to check all that when it comes. That's what makes some great fighters. But then you gotta all that needs to be uh compartmentalized in order to live like a normal human being, like a man, you know, like a like a father, like a husband, whatever it is, a provider. You know, he has a record, and it's it's something that can be denied even by his own team, because the record and the proof is there. He's admitted that he has issues with his anger, and he's he's been physical with with other women before. And it's a damn shame because he's at the brink of of becoming something. You know, he can transform himself after that Ryan Garcia fight, if he can win that fight, into something even more special. But it's a damn shame that this reputation is just gonna be a burden for him because it's not it's not it's he's not being able to shake it. Shake it off. You can't shake off something that we've seen with our own two eyes on video. And you know, already multiple women have con and said that he's abusive. No matter how many statements he releases, it's already there. Yea, in his statement on Instagram said he would never do it. Well, you've lost the benefit of the doubt for the public if you're Gavanti Davis, because there is that video that you referenced where Gravante grabbed his then girlfriend by the neck and pulled her out of the arena. Police say that even hit her afterwards behind the scenes, some video suggesting that happened. And then a year later Sergio Gervante or it was actually months later. In that incident, Javante was in a car accident where he drove his brand new Lamborghini through a red light, hit another vehicle, injuring four people, including a pregnant woman who in September said to a judge she looked Givante in the eyes and said, please help me, and he fled the scene like this is a case still pending. He's got a court date on this in February. Javanta has done some reprehensible things over the last few years. Is the latest involvement. We don't know exactly what happened there, but I know I've stopped giving Givante Davis the benefit of the doubt in these types of situation. The question is it comes to boxing, Sergio, because this is there's a decision that needs to be made by show Time by people involved in the Davis Hector Garcia fight. Should this fight move forward? Your opinion as fighter? Okay, well absolutely not. Rolly Romero was canceled when he was gonna fight, Uh, thank Davis because of an accusation, not an arrest. An accusation. Tank Davis got arrested for battery, for physical assault. This is on record, honest file. You cannot let this show go on because they already a Showtime and and the networks already set a precedent there. You do bad, you're gonna get canceled. They did it to Rolly Romero, they should do it with their star. And it's a shame because you know, I believe in innocent into proving guilty. I didn't think Rolly Romero, and I was on record with you on JAFF saying I don't think they should have canceled that fight either, you know, because that was her side of the story, innocent into proving guilty. But if they canceled that fight, they should cancel Tanks fight as well, because you can't allow want to go through just because they're not as big of a star as another. It's just it's not right. The accusation, the arrest is there, the police report, it has to get canceled. Yeah, this will be a test for Showtime and its parent company, CBS, because it's one thing to bounce Roly Romero. He's just Roally Romero. You can get a replacement for him, which they did. He's not the cash cow in that particular fight. It's another thing to bounce Ravonti Davis. Showtime has done the last eleven Javonte Davis fights. They have stuck by him, even after that video came out, Sergio, that video that was as damning a piece of evidence as you're going to see against someone a Showtime stuck by him and they continue to do his fights. Here you have another example of domestic violence and arrest was made. There's a nine one one call, which I think is terrible. People, you haven't listened to that. It's bad. Uh. I don't know that they have much of a choice but to walk away from this, because if they don't like any credibility a network like CBS or Showtime has about investigating and caring about domestic violence, it goes out the window because you know, in a way, Javante Davis is on the Showtime payroll right like he's there fighter. They're pouring millions into his pocket, they're promoting him, they're advocating for him, they're televising him. I don't think they have any other choice in this situation but to scrap this fight and let the judicial system play out. And if they let this, if I continue, they're enabling them. And this is what happens with with with bad boys, not only in in boxing, but in any sport. You know, you get these kids from urban areas that make millions and millions of dollars, and then when they get in trouble, they don't get the book thrown at him like like a normal a kid off the street. They get protected by fancy attorneys, by network, by lawyers, by their team, their management, their their pr and good for them, they have the money to do that. But whenever you already set, like I said, a precedent. They already did that with Rollie Romero on an accusation. Now this is an arrest. You can't go backwards from there. You can't clean this up with a PR machine. You have to look it in the face and say, man, yeah, we gotta bite the bullet on this one. Man, we gotta we we have to. We have to postpone this, at least postpone it, but if not canceled it. But something needs to be done because it's gonna be a terrible look for for everyone involved in this fight if it proceeds, because not only will I could see protests going on outside and and and and you know, like a whole movement getting together. If stuff something like this is allowed to continue, it's another black guy for the sports I read about this over at s I this week. You know, other sports are not perfect on the issue of domestic violence. In fact, most of them have something of a checkered past. I remember back in the ninety nineties where there were NFL players Dan Wilkerson is when I wrote about who were accused of some reprehensible things. There was no punishment leveled Jason Kidd in the early two thousands, he pled no contest espousal abuse. There was no punishment by the NBA. Even Kobe like if you think back to two thousand three, Sergio, like Kobe was accused of rape back then, never convicted, but accused, arrested, went to trial for rape. He was flying around the country, you know, dropping in on his own trial in Colorado or on for hearings while he was playing in the NBA. So the mainstream sports leagues have not been perfect on this, but they're getting better, right Like they're coming when incidents like this come up, they're coming down harder on those involved in a Deshaun Watson with the NFL, never criminally charged, but he got an eleven games suspension from the league. I'm following one right now. Miles Bridges with the Charlotte Hornets, who was arrested and charged and pled no contest to one count of domestic violence. He has not landed back in the league yet, but when he does, he's gonna face properly a twenty five game suspension. Boxing's gotta catch up. Boxing has not shown to catch up. It doesn't asn't shown it cares, hasn't shown it cares about domestic violence. I mean, he doesn't care. We've seen this before with Mike Tyson, you know, right back, and we've seen it with with several several weeks after he played and agreed to an eight seven day prison center, his wife, his kids, not only fighters athletes, like you said, not only basketball fighters athletes. And I mean, this ain't the nineteen fifties anymore, man, This ain't the Honeymooners. To them, oh whatever her name was, You can't play that anymore, man. I mean, there's just too much to lose now. And we're not in those times anymore. Yeah, this is something that needs to be nipped in the bud immediately. And and and if you enable any athlete in any sport by sweeping it on the rug with high powered attorneys and pr machines and and just a slap on the wrist, then it's gonna happen again, because then you're you're setting that example that if I'm big enough, I'm popular enough, I can get away with this and it shouldn't be that way. Um, if you're Ryan Garcia, to kind of spind forward a little bit, what are you thinking right now? Go straight into that fight? Go straight into that fight with Tank, because not only is it gonna be Look, Ryan Garcia has that cookie cutter, good looking, clean cut image of you know, pretty boy that. But if you're Ryan, aren't you worried like that there is gonna be a fight? Like I don't know if it's gonna be a fight. He should keep calling him out because he's the Yeah, but like this is gonna be a good boy versus bad boy. I get I get the cell forward surgery, don't get me wrong. And Ryan Garcia has been among those who have publicly criticized Tank for some of his behavior towards women. But if you're Ryan, can you count on Tank Davis being available? You forget this? There was a there's a February sixteenth court date for Tank Davis where he can wind up going to jail or serving home confinement, Like should Ryan Garcia be counting on Jervante Davis to be available in April because Ryan could look around Sergio come February or March and not have a fight. Yeah. And this is where promoters that are savvy or what they do in Golden Boy Promotions, they have excellent matchmakers that could have a substitute that's gonna be similar. They're they're talking about Mercito Guesta, a short salth paw, aggressive salth paw, just like Tank. So if they're planning to fight Tank, they could have Mercito guests to on standby on a payroll just in case something happens and that show won't go out the window. They that's exactly what Ryan Garcia do because he's at the perfect he has a perfect opportunity to be the good boy against the bad boy. Everyone loves that matchup. We know Ryan Garcia is already very popular and we know that. You know, like in hip hop, the more of a bad boy you are, the more popular we are, and sadly, in boxing, you know, it's similar like that, if you have that bad boy reputation, you will get more following. So could you imagine this is just gonna get more popular on on on on even tragic news like this, because they want to see Gravante Davis get knocked out, they want to see him get beaten up. They want to see the bad guy lose. It's just that's that's promotions, man, That's the way it is. I think Ryan Garcia should keep calling him out, keep doing what he's doing, and and maybe this time around, Tank David's gonna gonna have an opportunity to go in any other direction. He's gonna have to face the music and face his kid because he doesn't want the BA publicity chasing him if that fight happens, though, and I think if you're Ryan Garcia, you now have to operate like there's a good chance that fight's not gonna happen, and plan your career accordingly. Well, that means taking that fight against Mercito Guesta or just saying I'm a full fled hundred forty pounder, I'm gonna start targeting the Tea female Lopezes, or the regious programs or the other top guys at one for I think that thought has to at least cross your mind over these next couple of weeks. If this fight against Hector Luis Garcia gets scrapped for Tank, if you're Ryan, you can't be banking on this guy being available. Look, I got a perfect example here. You get another aggressive, power punching southpaw champion and REGs program love that fight. I love that idea, Manx. There you go. Ryan Garcia should go off the Tank and if he can't get Tank, if he can't get if the Tank gets the book thrown at him, that court and he's not a very different type of fighting program. They're both south pause but all they haven't come but they're both power punching, aggressive south pause. What's the different read just a little bit bigger uh? And I'm not saying yeah, I won't favorite Ryan Garcia to fight. I won't favorite Ryan Garcia against Rugal Rue either. I won't favorite Garcia over Tank. And I've said it before, I kind of do. But I think it's close fight. I think its first guy to lamb big wins. I've said that in the past. All right, let's move on um end of the year right now, coming up on the close of your Fighter of the Year right now is who who is your best fighter? Of twin fighter. Fighter of the Year already said it. Bam Rodriguez already said Bam Rodriguez. Look, Dmitri Bevo beat the number one fight on the planet. But he was a bigger fighter fighting the smaller fighter. Bam Rodriguez moved up two weight divisions to beat two of the four kings. That is not what young twenty two year olds are meant to do. So not only is he ahead of the game, he fought three times this year, he beat two of the of the best flyweights in the world. That's my fighter of the year. Man, that's my fighter of the year. I get the Nittri Bevil should be the favorite, but if you really look at the nuts and boats, be Evil was not a huge underdog. He was a Ford of one underdog against Canelo. It's pretty big. We're talking about underdog. I don't remember the odds, but I remember when we called that fight out. I'm like, man, people gonna different. People are gonna be a headache. But when we called the fight, absolutely, But you remember what Bevo was coming off. He was life for death against Craig Richards. He had that win over salam Off in Russia. That wasn't very good. He was not harold coming into that fight. He goes in and forget the score cards. He dominated in that fight that should have been in the middle. Easy called the easy calls, saying, Dmitri and you won't be wrong with the easy call, and you and you won't be wrong. But I can't be wrong. You're speaking as a critic as a fighter, as as as a media guy. I'm speaking as a fighter. How difficult it is to go up and wait to face these power punchers like this At that age, at two years old, I couldn't even imagine fighting for a world title. Man. I was still, you know, fighting guys my age. So that is what I'm considering the fact that this this kid is so gifted to be able to jump up and weight class and and and fight these men, these these power punchers, and and make it look so easy. And look, I'm not taking nothing away from Bevo. He dominated the number one boxer in the world, and Canelo Alvarath, and then he went out and dominated. Then let me finish, Manni, don't be interrupting me, all right, I'm your guest, hadn't got And then he beat up undefeated tall South paul In Zudolo ra mirrors. He dominated that fight. So yeah, look, you won't be wrong, but I just I love Bam Rodriguez and what he did. He just bit off more than he can chew and and he chewed it shooting and spit it out. He shoot it um. I was most impressed with bands win over so wrung Beside. Rungside came in with the reputation as the biggest puncher at a hundred fifteen pounds and Bam went out there, took his best shots and knocked him out. Quadras was a very very good win. Knock Quadras down the third round one a decision. I just think bevol beating the number one pound for pound guy in Canelo Alvarez and following that up with beating the undefeated super middleweight champion, the five and oh at light heavyweight, five straight knockouts Zerdo Ramirez and beating him and the way he did that fight wasn't close either. The Canello fight wasn't close. The Zero fight wasn't close. Those are two decisive wins for to meet Your Evil, I think it's a clear cut winner at this point, clear cut number two. By the way, Bam Rodriguez, there's I think there's no no, no competition for the number two spot. But Bboll to me was and this is where where the smaller weight divisions don't get the much as much attention as the heavier weight division. That's all it is because if if if Bam Rodriguez was the middleweight, you might be thinking differently. Uh yeah, So the bigger you are, the more attention you'rena get. That the you know you're fighting Canello, so you're going to get more eyeballs on you. So it just means more a pound. But pound for pound, he Bam Rodriguez beat some legitimate power punching fighters did Quadras is probably the least puncher of the was physical in his fight with I mean, he wrong, so wrong. This side knocked out a legend in chocol I mean these are power punching I'll tell you what, if Bam had fought four times in twenty two, or if in that third fight fought somebody maybe hadn't even higher level, I'd probably have a tougher time making that decision. But that third fight kind of uninspiring, you know. Israel Gonzalez Zala want the distance with the distance is not like, what is that you want to what you want to reward a guy for that? Yes, whenever you're going against a legend and you go to the distance, absolutely, so should we reward you for going the distance with with Shane Moseley absolutely and burning Ford twice? So I went thirty six rounds with two great fighters. So damn right, man, pat yourself on the back right there. Um, all right, I want to ask you about something Adrian Broner said talking to our friend Sean Porter recently. Broner, I'm gonna paraphrase here, indicated that one of the reasons he left PBC to sign this new deal with b LK Prime was because when he was discussing, you know, potential opponents, potential pay days with Al Hayman, Um, they wanted him to face quote Godzilla in order to get the biggest pay days, whereas BLK Prime doesn't really care who he fights. They're gonna pay him whatever he wants, uh regardless. I kind of scratched my head at that surgeon because shouldn't PBC's approach be how it should be? Right, Like, if you want to get the highest pay days, you gotta get the toughest fights. Broner right now, is scheduled to face Ivan red Catch in a fight in February, a fight that nobody is going to watch. Nobody. Nobody is gonna watch Broner Red Catch on pay per view on BLK Pride. No shot whatsoever. Broner, if he's gonna get the big pay day, he says he's getting okay, but I kind of found it. It kind of exposed the bad part of boxing right now, where guys are expecting to get big pay days without taking tough fights. Well, yeah, because he's already been through there. I mean, Adrian Bronner made a lot of money fighting you know, fighters like John Molina and Adrian Gornados and those type of fighters, and he's making millions and millions of dollars now. Every time he stepped up, he lost, so that that anytime he steps up to a Godzilla, like he was saying, he loses. But at this point of his career, he has to face you know, god Zilla, Yes, to face face King Kong and Skull a lot. And he doesn't want to though, but he's gonna have to. He's gonna have to. What he says about bil K Prime is right that they let him fight ever he wants on pay per view. You know, Red Catch has coming out back to back losses. You got beat by readers program. Like when you're in a a half ago, when you're an older fighter and you're long in the tooth, you need to make a statement against a younger fighter and up and coming fighter. You need to prove that you're still the goods or else you go to b okay and and and do what they're doing there. But I don't think they're gonna pay them all that money. I think that's just gonna be a uh. He's just saying that for you can bring more money to the table negotiation to I don't think they're gonna pay him that money because we know what Adrian Browner is. On the top level, he comes up short with the biggest fighters. He did it against madonnash On Porter and everyone else. Now on the smaller level, the C plus level, hey, he beats these guys. So if he goes across the street and fights in another network, he's not gonna fight you know, Godzilla or King Kong, So good for him. Let him. Let him do that. I just don't think he's gonna make the money that they're promising them. It's the grass isn't greener. On the other side, Al Hayman has been great to to that kid, and and and he's and he's he's squandered so much of his money, talent and respect. So there's only so many bones you could throw out whenever you're dealing with a fighter like that. And I think they had enough home. I honestly don't. I don't even mind what Brunner did right, Like, if he really is being guaranteed that type of money to fight the Ivan Red Catches of the world, why wouldn't he take it. I have the same position with Terence Crawford when he went to b LK Prime for ten million dollars to fight David Avenasian. I don't blame a fighter for taking a big pay day for an easy fight. I blame b LK Prime for having one of the worst business models I've ever seen. Like, if you're going to commit that kind of money to Terence Crawford have really low pay per view numbers, God bless you. If you're going to commit to three fights Radrian Broner and not tell him that one of those fights has to be against Regis pro Grae or somebody of that level. I don't know how you're making any of that money back. I don't know how that's not just a fire pit of money that you're burning it all on. I don't know. I don't get it. I don't get I mean, Trailer did that and it didn't work for them. Anyone that tries to do that, it doesn't work, and it's not gonna work for be all Key. But some reason there's money out there to burn. You know, everyone thinks to have the next great idea, and it's all the same idea, all the same idea. We're gonna go in a first bid, or we're gonna sign one guy. You don't sign one guy. You signed fights. You don't sign a fighter. You signed fights. If you can get Broner to fight re Justis pro Grae on BK Prime pay per view, that's a fantastic fight. Give me that fight. Well, I take it back, it's not fantastic. It's good. I'll take that fight on pay per Viewer will be popular, fight, excellent, I'd watch. Not fantastic. I think progra the fantastic name recognition and it's a fantastic matchup. Where where Where people just know who they are. The two former champions will be explosive to power punchers. I think maybe it won't pan out to be a fantastic competitive fight, but I think it's a fantastic matchup. You know, what they should have done instead of red Catch and this is a name that came up, They should have done Broner against Romero. Like those two would have yapped at each other for two months and it would have been an average fight, but at least it would have been relevant, and we would have been talking about it prior to it. But and and it would have been affordable because Romero, I don't think it would have priced himself out if you just listened to him lately, he kind of thinks that he deserves a big Brinks truck because he got knocked out by Travanti Davis. I don't really, Well, he's gonna he's gonna make money because he's gonna be a good heal, He has a good he punches hard, he has a big mouth, and you know, he got knocked out by one of the best fighters in the world, and there's a little shame of that. He comes out, you know, knocks out two or three guys. He's back, he's promotable, and he's gonna fight like he last what June. And there's no plans from the fight in the first couple of months of any three, at least not plans that I'm aware of. He's got a fight like you can't just sit on the sidelines and hope a big paint on. And now he comes, he has to come back and turn heads again, you know, knock out somebody and and and he'll be back on a on a seven figure pay day. But this he was getting seven figures for that David's fight. I don't think I'll be okay if you're gonna keep it throwing out cash around, all right, A couple of things I wanta hit you with. Taffim Lopez continues to take a lot of heat from not just media or you know, Internet media, but his peers. He gets criticized a lot for his performance against Sandra Martin not Ta Fimo said some wacky things over the last couple of weeks, including uh that he knew that the camera was on him when he said, do I still got it? After this? Martin went, I don't believe that for a second. I think Ta Fimo in that moment was experiencing a crisis of confidence. But I have said this, until any of these top guys at one forty decisively beat Sandra Martin, you can't say anything about how difficulty is to fight. The guy beat Mikey Garcia. He went and fought well, or at least fought his way against Tafia Lopez. He is a very difficult guy to go up against female. Now he's too and oh officially at a hundred and forty pounds, but he's taken a lot of criticism from a lot of people that don't believe he's proven he's a high level a hundred forty pounder. What would your advice be to ta Fema Lopez moving forward? Man, I would love to have a sit down with two a female, because he's such a he's such a smart he's such a smart kid. You know, he's just like many of us fighters. You know, we we come from broken homes. We were emotionally, emotionally damaged or at least unavailable, and we have a lot of things to juggle, and then money throws gets thrown our way in popularity and everywhere you go, you recognize all that's hard to handle in in your early twenties. So I would love to have a have a sit down with him. I mean i've I've I've met him, I talked to him before I chopped it up with his father. He's a smart kid, but I think he's just emotionally immature, immature and and I hate to say that because I know he's he's really just smart, damn good fighter and and and I know he's the goods, but mentally, I just think he needs a tuneup. He needs a mental tuneup, and I don't think he's gonna get it from his father. You know, I've been in boxing, you know, over twenty years, and the father son trainer relationship does not work. Man. It's I've seen so many relationships where they get broken, when they get broken for life because of boxing father son relationships. You know. A good example is Peter Manfredo and and the guy that I found the contender, he still doesn't talk to his death since losing in the rematch in the finale that it's split. And I've I've known so many kids growing up that dynamic is so difficult to juggle. And and that's why, you know, you gotta give credit to fathers like Bill Haney, you know, because he's the trainer, but he brings in other trainers. He's the voice, but he also has help on that voice. That's successful father son relationship, trainer son relationship because he lets other trainers involved. But then you look at like say, um uh, Danny Garcia, they like too much of the limelight to your female senior. I'm sorry, I not Danny Garcia, Angel Garcia and Andel Garcia. He loves too much of the limelight till female senior loves too much of the limelight. I would even say Kenny Kenny Porter, you know Sean, Sean Porter's dad, that that works because Sean Porter is such a I've been in camp with him, man, I couldn't deal with training with a with a with a militant father trainer like Kenny. He's just too strict and it'll annoy me, man, it would annoy me. But Sean he respects and loves his father, and and for some reason that worked out. For some reason, that worked out, because that should have been broken a long time ago. But yeah, it does not work, Madox Mayweather Senior, Mayweather Jr. It does not work. Man, You can't. It works when they're young, right. You can tell an eight year old, a ten year old, the fifteen year old, even an eighteen year old, you can scold them, you look like ship. You should have done this, you could have beat him. But you can't say that to an undefeated fighter at twenty one years old, the twenty five years old, like a young champion. You can't tell them that anymore. You can't talk to him like a son of more. You gotta talk to him like a world champion. You gotta see him like the world season. And that doesn't happen in a father train a relationship, and that's where the emotion fractures. And that's where the resentment comes in. And that's where your first loss or even your first bad performance, you just butt heads and that relationship gets strained. And that's not it's not only strained for the for the lifetime of your I mean for your career. It's a lifetime because it gets it gets fractured, man and and and there's times where you know it never gets mended. I just don't like that dynamic. Never have, never will. It's a good point because the number of father fighter relationship that have not worked far exceeds the number that have that's for sure um for Ta Femo. Though going into next year, there's been some talk, a lot of talk about matching him with Josh Taylor in the middle of the year. I'd personally like to see Ta Femo take one more fight against a mid level hundred forty pounder before he fights a Josh Taylor. I think he needs that. I think he needs it for confidence reasons. I honestly, Sergio, I thought he looked fine against Pedro Caampa. That was a good fight. Goodwin knocked him out. And again, Santra Martine is really, really, really tough. He's slippery, he moves a lot, He's in great shape. Uh. I thought Femo had a bad game plan, or at least, you know, fought poorly in that fight. But I think Santra Martin is very difficult for anybody in that weight class. I like to see him fight somebody a little more conventional in his next fight, for no other reason, and then again his confidence back up. I think Ta Femo is still has the power to be a big hitter at one forty. He obviously has the talent to be elite at one forty. I just think he needs one fight in between before we see him in with a Josh Taylor or Regius Program or anybody else the top guy in that division. That's where matchmaking comes in. That's where where a matchmaker has to play, you know, matchmaker slash counselor that's where a trainer needs to really uh brainstorm with the matchmaker. And promoters say, look, this is where my fighter is at, this is what he needs. This is a style matchup, and they will do that because there's money to be made, a lot of money to be made. You're you're talking about a fighter that took over the He literally took over that lightweight division by beating one fighter. He got all the belts undisputed pretty much, and he went from that too, not having the confidence all of a sudden, you know, over it does. That's not how it works, man. So that that that dynamic is is um it's a weird one. Man. I just don't like I don't like it. But I think if if knockouts knock people have short, short term memories. Knockouts erased everything, and he brings that confidence back in the fighter Whenever a fighter feels like he doesn't have it anymore. One head turning knockout. We'll bring all that confidence back because we've been doing this since we're young kids, man, and we've had doubt before, we have insecurities before, we've been lost before as amateurs. But then once you get that one big win on the stage under the lights, and the fans are back to asking your autographed the pictures and you're back to making the the big money. Hey, I'm bad, baby, that I mean, that was just the hiccup. This is boxing. Every great champion loses and you get your swag back. Needs to swag back with another big knockout. That's all it takes. And what we'll see him, We'll see him doing backflips in the Heisman in all time. All right, we still have one more fight to go in a New Year's Eve matchup in Japan. It's a big fight, Surgio, a hundred and fifteen pound unification fight between Joshua Franco, the brother of Bad Rodriguez, and Kazuoto Ioka, who is a big star over in Japan, Multidivision World champion over in Japan. Um, this feels very fifty fifty to me right off the top. Um Aoka has been busier. He's coming off a win over Don and Diettez in July uh whereas Joshua Franco he hasn't foughten over a year now at this point because of some issues. They're coming off the trilogy with Andrew Maloney. How do you see this fight taking how do you see this fight playing out? He Franco's gonna have his hands full, not only because I don't agree, but it's Ioka is going to be difficult to look good against. I mean, he's he has pressure, the pressure guy, but he also has a long right hand, he has he has that that that that tricky upper body movement. He's gonna be in his hometown. He's only lost two times Mannix. Both of them were close split decision losses. So anytime a fighter loses a fight like that, he still considers himself undefeated. He feels he he got that bad end of the decision. So Ioka has the confidence, he's gonna have the hometown judges, He's gonna have everything on his side. And Franco wearing tek matches up to you, man, you can't have trilogies. He's had two trilogies. In the last hand a couple of years. I mean, you don't you you can't put your body through that wear and tear. It just catches up to you. I just think the wear and tear is gonna catch up to this young man. And Ioka is one of those fighters are gonna get Just give him hell, man, It's gonna be a very tough fight for Frankie to win unless unless he comes out and starts fighting like his brother Bam, you know, using his footwork and and using the angles and and and and you think I don't think you can. There are two different fighters. But I'm saying if he can surprise us and do something like that and box off the back foot and use angles and and and and concentrate on going to distance, not going for the knockout, and avoid that right hand. Ioka has a damn good right hand, and m. Franco's been stopped before and he got caught with the right hand, and uh, if he gets hit by that Ioka right hand, it's gonna remind him of that time he got stopped. So yeah, he's gonna have his hands full. So if they go the decision in Japanese judges, it's just gonna be. It's gonna be the cards are stacked together. I'm sure they'll be American judges of it, but in Japan, or at least, they'll be neutral judges for a fight like that. But I agree with the in Japan, it's difficult to get a decision on somebody's home turf. The crowd is gonna be behind Ioka. For people that don't know, that's a major boxing day in Japan, it should be a really, really good crowd h for that fight. I wonder, you know, if you're Franco, it's gotta be a lot of juice flowing. Three and though, because this was the year of your brother, you know, Band Rodriguez got a lot of the attention deservedly, so you've gotta be sitting there thinking, look, I just completed my trilogy with Andrew Maloney. I won two of those fights. The third was a no contest. This is my time. My brother has already said one fifteen is my division. I feel like the motivation at the very least is gonna be there for Joshua Franco. I think that's gonna matter what a fight like this, I think it's gonna be, you know, he's gonna be fired up for this fight. Yeah, he's gonna be fired up. He's gonna be ready, He's gonna have everything going in his favor. But you're you're still gonna be fighting a Japanese fighter in Japan with Japanese judges, maybe one judge, Like you said, that's gonna be American and uh, he has a lot of wear and tear. Look, I wish him the best. I'll be pulling for Franco. I'm a big fan of Franco and his brother Rodriguez. I'm a huge fan of Robert Garcia. I wish him the best. I just think he's gonna have his hands full by this Japanese fighter. Tricky, tricky style, good right hand. Franco has been stopped before. You're gonna be awake at what like three in the morning when that fight takes place. Your kid in me. I won't be up Tvo for that. TiVo you still have TiVo? What's it called? I don't know whatever, Yeah you are TiVo. You probably still do have TiVo? Yeah I do. Glad you made a return to the podcast. Hey listen, man, I need a raise, so you better talk to your boss. Colin Coward. Was that his name? Colin Coward? Volume sports logan swim pay this man more money, you can't afford me no more and when we come back. Baltimore Banner investigative reporter Justin Fenton with the latest on Javante Davis's trial in Maryland. 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FanDuel is also now live in Maryland, Marylanders, make sure you get in on the action also with great offers just for you, so don't miss your chance to get your no wet first bet up to one thousand dollars in free bets when you joined Fan Duel with the promo code boxing you bet with me with Boxing, Bet with me with the NFL Make every moment more with Fan Duel, an official sports betting partner of the NFL. Alright. Justin Fenton is an investigative reporter for the Baltimore Banner. Among the stories he's covered in the last year has been the ongoing legal proceedings for the hit and run case involving Givante Davis, and with the latest incident involving Davis happening down in Florida, I wanted to bring on Justine see exactly where this case in the Baltimore area stands. So Justin, thanks for joining me. Um, just kind of give me an overview of what the last year has been like with this case and where it stands today. Yeah, this has been sort of pending through the courts for a while now, um, and it's getting nearer to a resolution. Um. The case stems from a November incident. There was a hit and run accident in downtown Baltimore. Took a while for charges to be brought against Tank, but he's facing fourteen counts. They're all misdemeanors, but they carry up to a year in jail each um. In the spring, prosecutors offered a plead deal. They said that they wanted him to serve four months in prison. He said no. Then in the fall, prosecutors in the defense came back and said, we've reached a deal. We think that he shouldn't serve any time. We think that he should get a year suspended, which means that basically, you don't serve a year, but if you screw up, if you get in trouble again, you can be any part of that sentence can be imposed. And a judge actually rejected it. Uh. The judge said, I don't think that that is serious enough for these charges, and so as it stands now, he set for a trial for February. How unusual is it to see a judge reject a plea deal negotiated between the defense and the prosecution. It's fairly unusual. We have a system here in Baltimore where all cases start with a single judge. It's like Grand Central Station for every case. And the judge can can listen to plea deals, she can accept them, she can tell them to go back and work on it again, she can send them off to trial. Um So the fact that the judge here, basically I think she was swayed a lot by the victim in the case. She appeared with her attorney and said, please don't accept this. A lot of times I think these cases probably would go through. They get sort of rubber stamped and moved along if both parties agreed and the judge says, oh, I'm not going to stand in the way. But the the victim spoke out and said, you know, I was hurt badly. Um I looked at him in his in his eyes and asked him for help and he and he fled. And I think that had a lot to do with it. Um So, any number of things can happen going forward. Though, As as as you probably uh are aware that you mentioned that that victims statements, just reading that from your reporting that that was pretty powerful stuff. I mean, this was a pregnant woman who, as you said, told the judge that she looked gravante in the eye and asked for help and he immediately fled after that. Um, you know, were you in the court room when she she said that, you know, this was a virtual hearing, so it was over the phone. But yes, she she she appeared in that hearing. Yes, there. It was four people who were injured in this crash. Um. Three of them, notably, UH have apparently reached settlements with with Davis. Uh and and her layer said that he really wasn't engaging them on that talk. And I wonder how much that that has to do with things. But um, yeah, she said that her car was smoking, she was trapped, she's pregnant, that she's had injuries that have lingered and continued to affect her life, and that you know, I think what what the attorney said was, you know this this is a nothing for him. If you give him a year suspended, two months home detention and work release, that's nothing to him. Workers for an athlete is going out and playing sports. Uh, you know, fighting in million dollar abouts. So they want to see more happen um now, And an interesting thing is that there's gonna there's a changing of the guard in the States Attorney's Office. Our top prosecutor Maryland Moseby, who people might remember from Freddy Gray case and things like that. She was not re elected and it was her office that engineered this, this original plea offer that was rejected. There was a new prosecutor taking office on Tuesday. We'll see if he takes a harder line, takes uh you know, it takes the same stance that the prosecutor have had thus far. The other thing that could happen is the judge who rejected it. As I mentioned, she's the you know, the hub that controls all the cases. She could transfer to a judge for trial who actually does think that that's an appropriate plea uh plea outcome. Um. And then there's you know, anything can happen at trial as well. So it's really I think I think he's facing a serious prospect of jail time, considering that the original offer was four months. Then the offer of no time was rejected, judge weighing in and saying I don't think he should get any time. He's facing a real prospect of time. But again, uh, you know, anything can happen at trial, and uh, you know, it remains to be seen. Is there any way to extrapolate what the changing of the guard in the prosecutor's office means for this case at this point, because this will be a pretty high profile case that will be handled, will be a lot of attention paid to it come February. Yeah. I mean it's not a it's not a murder case, it's not a rape case. But in terms of being high profile, it's probably one of the most high profile cases. Our new state's attorney will inherit. Um. I think you know, our previous state's attorney was known for, you know, perhaps progressive policies. Um. And you know, her husband as a city council president and hosted events with Thank Davis where he appeared on panels, went out to talk with kids. You know, I think a lot of people in the Baltimore community are rooting for him. Um. But our our new state's attorney, Uh, he's talked about being a little bit harder on crime um and UM. You know I think that we could very much, uh, you know, see them take this to trial. You know, I think people here maximum penalty of a year and think, wow, could could he get a year? Could he get fourteen years? You know, people don't get maximum penalties that just doesn't work that way, especially someone without a prior record. But some jail time, some time that could take him, you know, uh, you know, uh out of commission for for a while. UM, you know, I could. I could definitely see that happening. So Gavant is back in the news this week because of an incident that allegedly happened in in Florida, involving an altercation with a woman. Um, what if any impact on what's happening up in Baltimore could what's happening in Florida have on Givante. That's a great question. I mean, uh, I think we we saw that his previous case from from also in Florida was recently dropped. That was a case that went it was on cell phone video went viral. Um, you know, and after more than two years of being appending prosecutors said that the witnesses and the victim didn't want to cooperate even though they had that video, that they didn't want to operate, and they dropped that case. So that case is now in the rear view. He doesn't have to worry about that anymore. This new case that has popped up, Um, for better or worse, Uh, you know, domestic violence cases very much hinge on the alleged victim wanting to cooperate a lot of times, we don't see that happen. Um. And you know already Tank is disputing these cases. He was on social media last night saying this is made up, this is embellished. He retweeted his nutritionist who said he was there when the nine one one call was made and didn't match up with what was actually happening in the room. Um. But again I think to the extent that it could have so. So right now he's a clean record, right, the battery cases dropped, Uh, it can't be used against him. This this new case. Will see what happens. But I think it's possible. It's possible that if he were to be convicted in this hit and run case, the judge could look at the totality of these incidents and say, you know that this indicates somebody who is troubled, you know who needs to be I guess taught a lesson. Um. So it's possible that these things could carry him in to the Baltimore courtroom. So what happens, sure, what happens on on February six, is this the beginning of something. It could this could we see a resolution on the sixteenth, or we now headed towards what could be a lengthy process. Uh. You know, Baltimore courts are hard to predict. Again, as you see, these things have been pending for quite some time. Postponements happened all the time. I think after the plea deal was rejected in September, it was set for a December trial, which sort of raised the prospect of whether this was going to affect his upcoming fight. That didn't happen. It's now scheduled for February. Uh, and you know it's it's not clear whether it'll actually go forward at that time, but it's been sent for a trial. Judges said this should go forward again. They could reach a new plea deal that a new judge is amenable to. It could go to trial. It could go to trial and and the witness, uh could the alleged victim could testify against him and pick him out. She could take it all back. There are many outcomes at at this point, including postponed even even further down the line. And it'll be uh worth watching. As most people in boxing are just you know, they look ahead to Gavante, Ryan Garcia Javante, these big fights got planned in two. I think there'll be a lot of people watching and see what happens on February or whenever that trial ultimately picks up. Justin I appreciate your time, man, UH, keep up the great work and be following you on the Baltimore Banner, UH covering this case over the next few months. Okay, thank you very much. All right, time now for this week's picks, brought to you by our friends over at fan Duel and two is almost over, but there still is one huge fight left before the end of the year, a hundred and fifteen pound unification fight between Casuto Ioka and Joshua Franco. That fight will take place over in Japan. It will air at five am Eastern time, so get up early if you want to watch Ioca versus Franco. Ioka is a slight favorite in this fight according to FanDuel minus one seventy two, josh Franco the underdog at plus one thirty four. I just can't bet against Ayoka in Japan. He is a big name over there, and I think fighting on his home turf is going to be a big benefit for him. I think Josh Franco is going to be highly motivated. I talked about this on the pod with Sergio, but I think Ioka, a pressure fighter, is going to do just enough to get the judge's decision. So take Ayoka to win. As I point out, take Ayoka to win by decision. Not much better odds there minus one oh five according to fan duel. But Aoka I think is not the power puncher at one fifteen. I think he's gonna win a decision. Will be some competitive moments, it'll be a competitive fight. Um, there'll be some good exchanges. But I think Ayoka's activity, his pressure, that's gonna be the difference in this fight. Casuto Ioka to win by decision. That is my pick this week, and those that's my last pick for two thousand and twenty two. That's it for this week's episode. My thanks to Sergio Mora and Justin Fenton for joining the show. As always, subscribe, rate review this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you download podcast, and I'll see you next week.