Pinoy Pug Mark Magsayo Eyed As Potential Replacement Foe of Tank Davis

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Former boxing featherweight champion Mark Magsayo just entered the picture of the potential replacement opponent of Gervonta “Tank” Davis confirmed on January 8, 2025.

In a Facebook post by the official account of Viva Promotions, spearheaded and managed by MP promotions head honcho Sean Gibbons’ son, Brendan, Magsayo’s camp is currently in talks with a possible world title clash with Davis if his original foe, Lamont Roach, can’t make it to their main event clash on March 1, 2025, at the Barclays Center in New York.

Last December 2024, the negotiation between Davis and Roach’s camp took a toll when the American star boxer announced that their scheduled fight would be cancelled.

Despite the update, Davis continued to train and opened the possibility of entertaining new proposals for his next opponent.

With the opportunity on the line, Viva Promotions and Magsayo made their move, but a confirmation from Davis’ camp is yet to be confirmed if they will accept the challenge.

This will be a huge stepping stone for Magsayo after losing his featherweight title against Rey Vargas while absorbing a WBC interim shot at the hands of Brandon Figueroa.

After absorbing back-to-back losses in the featherweight division, Magsayo decided to move to a heavier weight class and is now competing in the super featherweight.

Since increasing weight, Magsayo looked stronger than ever and swept all of his matches against Bryan Mercado, Eduardo Ramirez, and Isaac Avelar.

Magsayo made a name for himself three years ago, when he became the first man to dethrone Gary Russell Jr., ending his seven-year reign in the featherweight division.

However, Magsayo’s title defense was short-lived after losing his next bout to Vargas and failed to re-claim his belt in his next fights.

On the other hand, Davis is yet to suffer his first defeat in professional boxing, holding an impressive win-loss record of 30 wins, 28 knockouts, without a loss.

Davis already defeated several superstars in the scene, including controversial stars Ryan Garcia and Rolando Romero, as well as two of the toughest lightweights two years ago, Mario Barrios and Leo Santa Cruz.