Jono Carroll looking to emulate rapid rise of Gervonta Davis

IBF super featherweight champion Gervonta Davis [17(16)-0] may only be 22 years old, but he is a fighter that Irish 130lber Jono Carroll looks up to.

King Kong Carroll [13(1)-0] is a big admirer of the American and has exchanged messages with ‘Tank’ on Twitter.

Indeed the Dunshaughlin fighter sees parallels between himself and Davis, both now and hopefully in the future

Back in January, Davis scored a stunningly dominant win over IBF champion Jose Pedraza, and Carroll is looking to be similarly dominant on June 17th when he takes on Liverpool’s Johnny Quigley [14(3)-0] in a battle of the undefeated southpaws at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.

Prizefighter winner Carroll told Irish-Boxing.com that “Gervonta Davis is someone that I’ve been looking at, that I’ve been talking about for a long time – long, long before he was a world champion. I’m looking at the likes of him, the way he operates.”

“Me and my missus were looking at videos of him sparring, not even his fights, and I knew he was one for the future and I called it that he would be a world champion in no time.”

“Then I saw all this about him signing with Mayweather and then getting Pedraza, and he destroyed him. If I had a million quid in my bank account I would have put it on it. I told every single person that would listen, ‘put money on this kid because he’s going to slap the head off him.'”

“That was built as a fifty-fifty and look how easy it was. My fight is being built as a fifty-fifty. That fight showed the talent of a fighter he is, and this fight will show the talent of a fighter that I am, it’s a massive opportunity for me.”

Davis has made a rapid ascent through the ranks since the end of 2015, beating Cristobal Cruz, Luis Sanchez, Guillermo Avila, and Mario Macias in quick succession to put himself in the frame for world honours.

Carroll believes he could be on the cusp of something similar, starting next month with a win over Quigley, who is also managed with MTK. Indeed, a win next month will see the Danny Vaughan-trained fighter pick up the IBF European belt and enter the rankings with the organisation whose current champ is of course none other than Davis.

“You wouldn’t know what could happen in twelve months,” he mused. “The thing with MTK is that I’m keeping busy, I’m building a good record, I’ve fought decent opponents, I’m gaining experience.”

“I don’t want to be in against journeymen, they don’t make me look good. I want people that will make me fight or box, bring the best out of me, that’s why I’m excited about this fight.”

“I’d love to fight Gervonta Davis, I’d love to fight Lomachenko, these lads, I’m not calling out these lads, but the whole reason I’m involved in this game is to fight the best fighters. That’s why, when I got a call about Quigley I said ‘100%, no bother, he’s an undefeated fighter.'”

The card on June 17th also features Lewis Crocker, Jamie Conlan, Steven Ward, and WBO European title fights for Paddy Barnes and Steve Ormond against Silveau Oltneau and Craig Evans respectively.

Tickets for the night cost £30, £40, £60, and £150, and are available from the boxers involved or from HERE.

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Gavan Casey and Joe O’Neill on Episode 4 of The Irish Boxing Show