De La Hoya to Tank: Come Get Your Belt Back

Floyd Schofield has had the WBA lightweight title for about 48 hours, and people are already lining up for it.

You know the result by now (our full recap is here: Schofield Passes the Test (Mostly)). What matters this week is who comes next.

After the fight, Fight Hub TV asked Oscar De La Hoya about the obvious name hanging over that belt: Gervonta Davis. De La Hoya didn't duck it. "This is boxing, the best have to fight the best. If Tank comes back, let's make Tank Davis. Why not? I was a fighter, man. Let's go, let's make the best fights happen!"

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Here's why that matters. Davis was stripped of the WBA lightweight title earlier this year and named "champion in recess." That status lets him step in and challenge for the full belt when he returns. Boxing News reports his comeback is expected in early 2027. So if Tank wants this title, the door is wide open.

Does he want it? That's the question, and it's always the question with Tank.

Boxing News notes the rumors around Davis's return have centered on George Kambosos and Stephen Fulton, not a 135-pound titleholder who's young, fast and unbeaten. Davis has always picked his spots. That's not a knock, exactly. It's the reason he's one of boxing's biggest earners. But Schofield isn't the type of comeback fight you take to "shake off the rust."

There's also a clock running. Because Schofield won the belt while it was vacant, Boxing News says he doesn't get a voluntary defense. If Davis passes on the mandatory spot, Jose "Rayo" Valenzuela is next in line in the WBA lightweight ratings and would be in position to take it.

And De La Hoya clearly has a Plan B. Talking about Schofield's options, he told reporters, "He can fight [William] Zepeda in house, we can go after [Abdullah] Mason who is another good fighter who Top Rank has." He also called Schofield vs. Zepeda "the big fight to do."

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Honestly? Zepeda would be a great fight, and Schofield vs. Mason is the kind of young-lion matchup the sport doesn't make enough of anymore. And with the WBA's mandatory rules in play, whatever Tank decides will set the order of all of it.

Bottom line: the 135-pound division got a new champion this weekend and a whole lot of possible matchups. Your move, Tank.

Sources: Boxing News, Bad Left Hook, Fight Hub TV