IBF Junior Lightweight champion Jose Pedraza will defend his title against Gervonta Davis on January 14 in Brooklyn as the co-featured bout to the super middleweight unification bout between Badou Jack and James DeGale.
“I think it’s a helluva fight, very dangerous, but it’s a fight Pedraza wanted,” promoter Lou DiBella said. “Davis has been screaming and yelling that he wanted a big fight, and he got what he wanted.”
“We feel very, very confident that Gervonta is going to win the fight, and we think that he’s going to do it in spectacular fashion,” said Davis promoter Leonard Ellerbe. “It’s a tremendous opportunity, and he’s ready to step up and seize the moment. This is something me and Floyd have been working on for some time.”
Ellerbe initially tried to make a deal for Davis to challenge titleholder Jason Sosa for his version of the title, but that deal fell apart, so they pursued Pedraza.
“We tried to make the Sosa fight, but it didn’t happen for a number of reasons,” Ellerbe said. “We’re excited to work with Lou. We have a tremendous card Jan. 14, and this fight is just part of it. Gervonta is a straight killer. He’s a very good boxer, but he’s also a tremendous puncher. He’ll go into the fight fully prepared, and we expect him to bring that IBF championship home.”
The card will mark the first time that Mayweather Promotions, which also represents Jack, will be promoting in New York, a place Mayweather never fought as an active boxer.
“Floyd has been wanting to bring a big event to New York and invade New York,” Ellerbe said. “Mayweather Promotions invades New York. It’s something we’ve been working on. We’re very confident that everything will be worked out [with regard to the insurance issue]. Lou and his team have worked extremely hard, and Floyd has been very adamant that he wants to do anything in his power to make this happen.”
