Sean O’Malley thinks six months of training is all it would take to take out boxing star Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis in a potential crossover boxing bout.
On September 14, the reigning UFC bantamweight champion returns to the Octagon set to defend his crown against the division’s top-ranked contender, Merab Dvalishvili. The two 135’ers will headline the promotion’s highly anticipated debut at Sphere in Las Vegas—an event Dana White promises will be unlike anything ever done in the world of combat sports.
With his second title defense of 2024 rapidly approaching, ‘Sugar’ sat down with ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith to discuss his upcoming clash with ‘The Machine’ and his aspirations for the future. During the conversation, O’Malley once again mentioned his desire to test himself in the sweet science and believes that the current WBA lightweight champion would make a perfect opponent.
“People hate when I bring up boxing. I don’t know if I’m there yet and I’m okay with that. If I need to go out and knock out 2-3 more guys to get a boxing fight, I’m okay with that. I’ll keep doing what I do. I wouldn’t mind Gervonta Davis. He’s so little. I like the matchup and we’re the same weight class. That’d be the one if I could pick.
“I believe I can beat Gervonta Davis. I’m a fan of his skillset. He’s very dangerous and I’m not denying that. I’m chasing greatness and I believe I can transfer over to boxing. Give me six months, give me a legitimate boxing camp… I’m very dangerous with both hands… I believe I can get the job done.”
Sean O’Malley wants a boxing match against Gervonta Davis and believes that Tank is a good matchup for him 👀
“[Gervonta] is just so little. We’re the same weight class, I like that match up…
I believe I can beat Gervonta Davis… I can transfer to boxing very well. Give me 6… pic.twitter.com/XKEvjmtYqe
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 12, 2024
The UFC is ‘100 Percent’ Open to Letting Sean O’Malley Box
Outside of a big-money match between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather in 2017, the UFC has largely stayed out of boxing. However, it sounds like they’re more than ready to jump back in, so long as O’Malley can draw enough coin to make it worth their while.
“[The UFC] told me you can do a boxing fight, 100 percent if it makes us enough money,” O’Malley revealed. “I’m not there yet. I’ve still got to become bigger. Two more f*cking sick performances, then we’re talking about being able to do it.”
O’Malley will look to take another big step toward his boxing dream on Saturday night against perhaps his toughest test yet. Merab Dvalishvili goes into his first UFC title opportunity riding a 10-fight win streak with victories over the likes of Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, and Henry Cejudo.
