Exclusive: Andrew Cancio On Wanting To Fight Gervonta Davis: “He Needs To Face Real Opposition”

Andrew Cancio’s current mission is to defeat Alberto Machado to defend his WBA “Regular” super featherweight title, but afterwards, there are plenty of options for him. 

Cancio is in the last stages of preparation for his first title defense in a rematch against Machado this week, but if he comes out victorious once more, he already has an idea of what to do for his next fight. In a recent media conference call, Cancio told Fightful he would like the opportunity to fight fellow titleholder Gervonta Davis, or any of the other world champions at 130 pounds, down the road. 

However, those plans might have to wait as Cancio admitted that he would likely give the first shot at the title to Rene Alvarado, the mandatory challenger to the “Regular” title. The two fought once back in 2015, with Cancio coming out on top with an eighth-round stoppage win. Alvarado has an 8-2 record since then and is currently on a seven-fight win streak with four of those wins coming by knockout.

“I would like to, but I know Rene Alvarado is the No. 1 mandatory and I know he’s patiently waiting for me and Machado to end this fight right here. If I were to come out on top, I would like to give him the opportunity to fight for the world title. [Rene] and I had a very great first fight when we fought years back. He’s been on a winning streak ever since and I feel like it would be appropriate to give him the opportunity to fight and try to win the world title against me. Then hopefully after that, if I come out victorious, then definitely I will go after the other titleholders,” Cancio said.

A potential fight against Davis would pit the WBA’s two super featherweight titlists against one another. The lineage of the WBA super featherweight title is certainly a strange one when looking at the past 24 months. Originally, Jezreel Corrales held the WBA “Super” version of the title, but lost the belt on the scales before a title defense against Machado in the second half of 2017 only for Machado to capture the title by knocking out Corrales.

Fast forward to early 2018 and the WBA ruled that Davis would fight Jesus Cuellar for the supposedly vacant “Super” title, meaning that Machado would be relegated to “Regular” titleholder status. Although Cancio and Machado are facing each other for what is typically deemed the secondary WBA world title, Cancio proudly believes his version of the belt is the legitimate version. A fight against Davis, according to Cancio, would ultimately decide who the true WBA champion is.

“I would [call it the definitive]. I think Gervonta Davis needs to step out of his shell and face real opposition. I would love to fight him in the future or as soon as possible if everything goes well. I think Machado has been facing a lot of top competitors to win this world title and I do feel like he was the true 130-pound champion,” Cancio said.

But before all of that can happen, Cancio must get past Machado, which is no small feat. In their first fight back in February, Cancio mounted a furious rally after getting dropped in the first round to later knock him out in the fourth round to win the WBA title.

Cancio vs. Machado 2 for the WBA “Regular” super featherweight title will take place on June 21. The fight will headline a Golden Boy Promotions card from the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino that will be streamed on DAZN in the United States.