Thursday, at the Baltimore Circuit Court, Gervonta “Tank” Davis waved his right to a trial and pleaded guilty to four counts pertaining to a hit-and-run incident in November 2020, which left four people injured.
The three-division world champ pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident involving bodily injury, failing to notify of property damage, driving with a revoked license, and running a red light.
As reported by the Baltimore Sun, Davis admitted to crashing his Lamborghini into a Toyota sedan around 2 a.m. on Nov. 5, 2020 in Baltimore and then leaving the scene of the accident.
According to police reports, Davis was leaving a nightclub with friends and a police escort was arranged for the trip back to their hotel. Davis, however, left the convoy out of concerns over his license being suspended. He then ran a red light and crashed into the other vehicle, which was carrying four people. All four would be hospitalized with minor injuries.
“He looked me in the eyes, and he never came over to help,” said one of the victims, Jyair Smith, who was pregnant at the time.
Last September, a judge rejected a deal made between Davis’ attorneys and prosecutors, forcing this latest court date.
Davis is due for sentencing on 5 May, less than three weeks after his tentatively scheduled April 15 pay-per-view clash with Ryan Garcia.
The boxing-related concerns coming into Davis’ trial revolved around that highly-anticipated bout with Garcia. Many wondered about the prison time associated with a guilty verdict and how it would impact plans for the April 15 fight date. As things stand right now, though, the 28-year-old Baltimore-based fighter would be clear to take the ring as planned.
This is, of course, good news for those with a business interest in the event.
“His sentencing is May 5, so he’s all clear,” Ryan Garcia’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya, founder of Golden Boy Promotions, told Fighthype.com after being asked to commend on Davis’ guilty plea. “He can now focus and train and be ready April 15. This is actually good news. This is actually great news for everyone involved in boxing and for everyone involved in the fight. Let’s go. Green light.”
Golden Boy executive Bernard Hopkins was also asked to comment on the Davis guilty plea.
“He don’t get sentenced until after April, so what the hell he care for?” Hopkins told Fighthype.com. “So, you go, you fight in April, you take your first ‘L,’ you take your millions. They give you three months, they give you six months, they give you probation. You do it with a fat check in your bank account…You go fight in April, then go to your cell and relax.”
“I wish Tank gets a second chance to redeem himself and drives safe and be careful out there and make amends to himself and pay the price that he has to pay and move forward,” Hopkins would also comment to Fight Hub TV.
In recent years, Davis has become one of the biggest attractions in the sport and, arguably, the biggest homegrown American draw.
In his last bout, against Hector Luis Garcia on January 7, Davis sold out Capital One Arena in Washington DC, breaking the all-time live gate record at that venue with over $5 million in ticket revenue.
Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia is expected to be a high-drawing event and, with both fighters having legitimate crossover appeal, perhaps, the biggest money fight to be made in boxing at the moment.
