Copyright Athlon Sports
Facing a new civil lawsuit that alleges a pattern of violent behavior, undefeated boxing champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis is on the verge of seeing his high-profile exhibition fight with Jake Paul crumble. The lawsuit, filed by an ex-girlfriend just two weeks before the scheduled Nov. 14 bout, has promoters scrambling for a contingency plan, with sources indicating that the event will likely be postponed and Davis will likely be replaced. Rather than address any allegations he is facing or the prospect of his lucrative Jake Paul fight falling through, “Tank” chose this moment of professional crisis to post a cryptic message on his Instagram story. He shared a picture of a gym mat with the caption, “Good day in boxing… no more snack for you bastards.” The following is a screenshot of Davis’ Instagram story: The post can be interpreted as a cruel celebration of the recent death of Victor Conte, the founder of the nutritional supplements company Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning, or SNAC. The X account for SNAC broke news of Conte’s passing: Who Was Victor Conte? Conte was a figure both influential and infamous in sports nutrition, working with many elite fighters. Before founding SNAC, Conte was linked to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) scandal of the early 2000s, one of the largest performance-enhancing drug controversies in sports history. BALCO was raided by federal agents in 2003, and Conte pleaded guilty in 2005 for distributing steroids and money laundering, serving four months in prison. It was revealed that Conte was the central figure who provided designer steroids to sports icons, including baseball legend Barry Bonds and track and field athlete Marion Jones. After getting out of prison in 2008, he reshaped his career by founding SNAC, a nutritional company that specializes in natural supplements for athletes in professional boxing, and became a vocal advocate for clean sport and advanced nutrition. Conte leveraged his insider knowledge of doping, providing consultation to both the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to improve their testing protocols for boxing athletes. Conte rebranded himself as a nutrition and testing expert, providing top professional boxers, including Terence Crawford, Canelo Alvarez, and Claressa Shields, with legal supplements and guidance. Tank Responds to Conte’s Death Amid Legal Issues Despite efforts to improve his image and right his wrongdoings, his skeptics, including “Tank,” believe he never truly changed. Gervonta’s post, reducing Conte’s legacy to a “snack” pun, could be seen as profoundly disrespectful to the many fighters who credited Conte with extending their careers. It also shows that Davis is quick to allege that a man who was a notorious cheat never truly reformed, somewhat ironic given Davis’ own allegations levied towards him throughout his entire career. Davis’s current civil lawsuit from ex-girlfriend Courtney Rossel contains disturbing allegations of battery, false imprisonment, and death threats, citing multiple previous alleged incidents of violence. In response to the lawsuit, Jake Paul’s promotion company has issued a statement, and multiple boxing reporters confirm the November fight may be postponed and Davis may be replaced. Davis’s post, made while his own future hangs by a thread, can be interpreted as a bitter and heartless gesture from a boxing champion whose greatest battles are increasingly those he faces with himself.
