Reason First: What Can be Done About Gervonta Davis' Behavior Outside of the Ring?

No individual should grab or strike another person or violate him or her in any way that the law can deem criminal. Featherweight champion Gervonta Davis’ case seems to be one of the most public, blatant acts of the start of force against someone else. That individual just happens to be his baby’s mother, Andretta Smothers. As the boxer received the steel bracelets after reporting to the authorities, he faces charges of simple battery and domestic violence. So, from where does all of this aggression and rage stem? Is it a culture within the boxing realm that promotes and amplifies not just violence in the square ring but without the sports arena?

Davis couldn’t handle his emotions and that led to him manhandling Miss Smothers. Instead of manning up and taking whatever words that she may have had for him, he decided to take her by the body and remove her from a celebrity basketball game. His frustration and anger boiled out in front of those in attendance and now millions of eyeballs on the Internet. His ugly display only heightens the need for a reform in the world of boxing. “Iron” Mike Tyson served time for rape. While this case doesn’t appear to be that vicious or evil, Tyson’s marriage to Robin Givens allegedly pitted him against her with blows. Former light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev struck a woman which landed her in the hospital with a concussion, broken nose, and displaced disc in her neck according to Yahoo! Sports.

Davis should be kept away from the young lady. He has prior arrests that paint a portrait of someone who is reckless, hot-headed, and afraid to deal with his emotional states. There should be no forgiveness for his behavior and the criminal justice system should penalize him to the fullest extent of the law. There is no excuse for putting unwanted hands on anyone. Why would a champion boxer turn around and possibly destroy his chances for becoming a real man? It is the feelings driven state of consciousness that Davis possesses. Rather than thinking through problems and settling them rationally, he chose to take out his animus on Miss Smothers.

While he may not lose out on fighting another bout, questions swirl surrounding the very nature of boxing. As it stands, the “sport” must be banned. It should not be eliminated by the government nor by pressure groups. It should be done with bank accounts and dollars being withheld by the populace. With terrors outside of the ring like Davis who never learned beyond the adolescent stage that starting violence is not only criminal but immoral, it is high time that the activity of boxing addresses the myriad of domestic violence cases. Even so-called The Best Ever (TBE) Floyd Mayweather served time for domestic abuse. The late “Raging Bull” Jake Lamotta’s domestic violence can be seen on film screens. This kind of behavior runs rampant on the outside because of all of the irrationalism that these boxers hold. They fail to use their reason in every aspect of their lives but in the most crucial, like romantic relationships, they put up even worse numbers.

What Davis ought to do is be the sportsman and the man that he conditioned for during a good chunk of his life. It’s not easy to just step in the ring and throw some punches around and claim champion of the world. What’s even harder is to keep one’s hands to oneself when the final bell sounds. But it is all too important to overcome those challenges. With rehabilitation and therapy, it is possible for Davis to achieve the peace of mind that the video completely does not display.

As he picked up Miss Smothers from her seat, he signaled to the world that he can’t deal with his problems with words, suggestion, and persuasion. No, preferred to lower himself to the level of a brute and show his own degradation.

What Davis can do is quit the activity of boxing and launch a campaign directed at preventing domestic violence. That would make him a true champion.