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Banned
The fight was first discussed a few months ago, but a deal has finally been reached for Jose Pedraza to make a mandatory defense against undefeated rising prospect Gervonta Davis, who is promoted by Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The fight will serve as the Showtime televised co-feature on January 14 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The card will be headlined by a super middleweight unification between Badou Jack (20-1-2, 12KOs) and James DeGale (23-1, 14KOs ). Jack is also promoted by Mayweather.
Pedraza (22-0, 12 KOs), 27-years-old, of Puerto Rico, will be making the third defense of his 130-pound world title since winning the vacant belt by decision against Andrey Klimov unilateral in June 2015.
Pedraza and his father/manager have been pushing their promoter, Lou DiBella, to get them a tough, high profile fight on television.
'' I think it will be a hell of a fight, very dangerous, but it's a fight that Pedraza wanted,'' said DiBella to ESPN Deportes. '' Davis screamed and shouted that he wanted a big fight, and got what he wanted. ''
To make the fight, Pedraza first had to get an exception from the IBF that allows him to face Davis instead of his mandatory challenger, Liam Walsh (21-0, 14 KOs), who became the mandatory after defeating Klimov by unanimous decision on Oct. 8.
Davis (16-0, 15 KOs), 22 years old and from Baltimore, is viewed by many experts as the best young talent in the Mayweather Promotions roster. A few months ago there was friction between him and Mayweather, which stalled the previous negotiations to get Pedraza, but it appears their differences have been worked out.
Davis has knocked out his last seven opponents and was last seen in the ring back in June, when he Mario Macias in the first round of a stay-busy fight at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Jose Pedraza vs. Gervonta Davis Finalized For January 14 - Boxing News
