That includes some of Baltimore’s best boxers. Gervonta “Tank” Davis has a date scheduled that will tell us something about his ability to draw pay-per-view buys. Lorenzo “Truck” Simpson has already returned to score an impressive victory. And the pugilist known as The Educated Boxer, aka Dorian Bostic, has earned the second victory of his unlikely career.

So, let’s take a look at the boxers who call Baltimore home and see where they stand in their careers, coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Gervonta “Tank” Davis: The biggest star to come out of Maryland since, when?, heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman, Davis will headline a Showtime PPV on Oct. 24 vs. four-division titlist Leo Santa Cruz (37-1-1, 19 KOs). Davis is about a 3/1 favorite at the moment, but there are potential issues for Davis, who is 23-0 with 22 knockouts and who holds a lightweight title. Aside from his latest legal issues, which began in February when he allegedly “battered” the mother of his child during a charity basketball game in Florida (he’s since been charged with simple battery/domestic assault), Davis didn’t perform well in his last fight. Although he was moving up from 130 to 135 pounds, he missed weight on his first attempt, and though he eventually weighed in at 134.5 pounds, he didn’t look great against a veteran in Yuriorkis Gamboa who happened to suffer a torn Achilles tendon during the fight.

Now, Davis, who is putting his 135-pound title on the line against Santa Cruz’s 130-pound belt, will have to weigh five pounds less than he did for the Gamboa contest. It could turn into a confusing mess if Davis can’t make the contracted weight again. But Showtime executives are confident in Davis. “Look, he’s motivated here,” Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza said. “I don’t think there will be any problems making weight on this one.” 

Lorenzo “Truck” Simpson: Despite the pandemic, Simpson has fought twice this year, and he’s coming off a first-round knockout of Alex Sandro Duarte, the most experienced opponent of Simpson’s career, in July. Earlier this month, the 20-year-old Simpson signed an advisory deal with MTK Global, a management company based in the U.K. that is slowly beginning to creep into the U.S. market. Considering MTK represents fighters like heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, former Fighter of the Year Carl Frampton and featherweight prospect Michael Conlan, this seems like a smart move for Simpson.

Here’s what MTK Global CEO Bob Yeland had to say about the Baltimore native: “We’re always striving to work with the best boxers in the world and we truly believe that he is destined to reach those heights. We’ve expanded into America recently with the unveiling of the MTK Tuscon Gym, and with other moves in the USA on the horizon soon, we’re certain that Lorenzo can spearhead our presence in the country and become a huge name. He’s clearly a very exciting fighter and brings with him a superb amateur pedigree, so I urge fans to keep an eye on his progression because he’s definitely capable of achieving plenty of success.”

Malik Hawkins: He’ll be the first Baltimore boxer to appear on a major telecast since the pandemic began when the undefeated Hawkins (18-0, 11 KOs) faces Subriel Matias (15-1, 15 KOs) on the Oct. 10 Showtime card. Hawkins is coming off an impressive knockout victory of the previously undefeated Darwin Price, but Matias’ power could provide quite a test for Hawkins.

Dorian “The Educated Boxer” Bostic: Although Bostic has had only two professional fights in his career, his story is a fascinating one. Bostic boxed in college, but he didn’t actually make his pro debut until he was in his late 20s. He grew up in the foster system, and for his full-time job, he was an assistant social worker at a local rehab center while working toward a Ph.D in human services. “I grew up in the foster system. I spent most of my life as a ward of the Maryland court system. I went from place to place. I bounced around. It was nothing to brag on,” Bostic told me last year. “My mother was a drug addict. My father is doing 50 years in prison [on apparent manslaughter charges]. Things were always rough like that. That’s the reason I’m able to box—because I’m a fighter outside the ring and inside the ring.”

So far, he’s been perfect as a pro boxer. In May 2018, he scored a first-round knockout vs. Geral Thomas, and on Aug. 8, he followed that up with another first-round stoppage of DaRon Jenkins. But something to keep in mind: The combined record of Thomas and Jenkins is 0-5, so it’s unclear just how good Bostic can be.

Malik Warren: Only three fights into this pro career, Warren has a heavy hitter as his promotor: Floyd Mayweather, the best fighter of the past 20 years.  Warren is 3-0 with three knockouts, but he hasn’t fought since December 2019. Still, Warren, a 20-year-old who went 68-24 during his amateur career, was excited about his move to Mayweather. “This is really a dream come true,” Warren said in a statement last October when he signed with Mayweather Promotions. “Coming from a city where crime and poverty affects many families, I’m blessed enough to do what I love and sign with the best promotional company in boxing.”

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Tyson probably could have beaten the count and gotten up before the referee counted to 10. But it was clear that Tyson’s career was finished.

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That was the only Tyson fight I ever covered as a journalist. A few days beforehand, a dozen or so media members gathered in Tyson’s hotel suite, and he showed us his new pet pigeons, which were perched on an armoire in one of the bedrooms. Then, Williams knocked the bird crap out of him, and it was clear to me that Tyson’s career—the Tyson phenomenon, the Tyson meteor—had been laid out on the canvas for good.

He was facing me as the referee counted him out that night, and I could see the realization and the sadness on his face. That look told me everything I needed to know. Tyson would fight one more time (and got knocked out again) but the Williams fight had made it all too clear.

The last time I saw Roy Jones Jr. perform against a competitive opponent, I just wanted it to stop. I was watching Enzo Maccarinelli pummel him on a live stream from Russia in 2015, and the once-proud Jones, one of the best fighters in boxing history, was getting pounded.

After the bout was over, with Jones as the fourth-round knockout victim, I wrote this: “Jones needs to retire from boxing. That’s all there is to it. Period, explanation point, end of story, whatever. After getting brutally knocked out by Enzo Maccarinelli in Russia on Saturday—yes, the greatest boxer on the planet in the 1990s (and one of the best of all time) is reduced to fighting off American TV in countries far from home—that much should be clear.”

That domination didn’t stop Jones. He fought four more times, winning all of them against nondescript opponents.

Last week, Tyson and Jones, a 54-year-old who hasn’t won a boxing match in 17 years and a 51-year-old whose best days were two decades ago, set the boxing world aflame when they announced they would face each other on Sept. 12 in an eight-round exhibition that will cost $50 to watch on pay-per-view. I’m sure both men are training hard, and I imagine both men will try to put some exciting punches together.

But are they going to try to knock each out? Are they really going to try to win? I doubt it. Which leads us to this question: Is it worth it to spend so much money to watch Tyson and Jones dance around the ring together?

Is $50 worth a 24-minute shot of nostalgia?

Already, Jones and Tyson are trying to convince you that your patronage is necessary. Jones has talked about how he eats pig ears, obviously alluding to Tyson noshing on Evander Holyfield’s ear in 1997, and said, “I’m good to go. You’re going to get the best Roy Jones that you’ve ever got. This is still Roy Jones even though I’m fighting Mike Tyson; I’ve got to be ready. When someone gets my blood up like that, it always takes me up to another level. Why? Because I was born and bred to do this.”

Meanwhile, Tyson has talked about how he, even at his advanced age, would beat up MMA star Conor McGregor, Rocky Balboa, and Ivan Drago.

Even Maccarinelli is hyping the event. “I’m telling you now, it won’t be friendly,” Maccarinelli told Sky Sports, via Boxing News. “I see this turning into a bit more than an exhibition. It will be competitive. No way they are training so hard for a friendly fight. They are both big punchers, they can both crack, how do they not go for a KO? You could pull back 50% of your punch—which is not going to happen. When they are in the ring, they will want to prove a point. When they face each other, no one will want to walk out as the loser.”

Yeah, I just don’t believe it.

Tyson will probably come out in a fury for the first couple of rounds, the same way he’s done throughout most of his career. Then, he’ll probably tire out and just try to survive for the next five or six rounds and try not to get embarrassed. Jones will probably try to keep away from danger when Tyson is charging at him early, and then he’ll start popping his jab and landing the occasional combination, all while still keeping out of danger. He doesn’t want to be embarrassed either.

But by the fourth round, I don’t think either man will be trying too hard for a knockout. If you want to buy the PPV, that’s what you should know.

For me, I’ll probably spend the money and watch it, just to see what happens (and because, in their younger days, I would never miss a fight with either man). There’s a bit of a freakshow factor, and I want to drink in that shot of the past and remember the days when both men were great.

I imagine I won’t be alone.

Gervonta Davis officially signs to fight: Baltimore’s Gervonta “Tank” Davis (23-0, 22 knockouts) will face Leo Santa Cruz (37-1-1, 19 KOs) on Oct. 24 on Showtime PPV. It should be a good, but winnable matchup for Davis. At the age of 25, he’s already a two-division titlist, but in December, he struggled to make the 135-pound weight limit for his last fight vs. Yuriorkis Gamboa and didn’t look great against a once-world class fighter who is well past his prime. Now, Davis will face Santa Cruz at the 130-pound junior lightweight limit with Santa Cruz’s 130-pound belt and Davis’s 135-pound belt on the line. One of the most interesting subplots will be whether Davis can still make 130 pounds as he prepares for his debut as a PPV headliner.

“Look, he’s motivated here,” Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza said. “I don’t think there will be any problems making weight on this one.” 

As of this writing, Davis is a -350 betting favorite, meaning you’d have to wager $350 to win $100.

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