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          Gervonta Davis stepping up two weight classes; Jermell, Jermall Charlo schedule bouts

          • Ben Baby, ESPN Staff WriterApr 15, 2021, 09:15 PM
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              Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN's NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
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          Gervonta "Tank" Davis and title defenses by both Charlo twins headline Showtime's upcoming fight schedule.

          Davis will face Mario Barrios on May 26 for an inferior version of the WBA's junior welterweight title. Barrios (26-0, 17 KOs) currently holds the WBA's No. 2 belt in the division, while Davis (24-0, 23 KOs) is moving up two weight classes after beating Leo Santa Cruz in a junior lightweight title fight in October 2020.

          Jermell Charlo (34-1, 18 KOs) and Brian Castano (17-0-1, 12 KOs) will fight on July 17 to crown an undisputed junior middleweight champion. Charlo is the IBF, WBA and WBC champion in the division while Castano has the WBO belt.

          Jermall Charlo (31-0, 22 KOs), considered to be one of the world's top middleweights, is fighting on June 19 against Juan Montiel in a fight with a unique historical context. That date is also Juneteenth, a celebration of when slavery was officially declared over in Texas in 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. Both Charlo twins fight out of Houston.

          Other title fights include Luis Nery against Brandon Figueroa for the WBC's junior featherweight belt on May 15 and Nordine Oubaali-Nonito Donaire on May 29 for the WBC bantamweight title.