This past Saturday, two of the fastest rising stars in Boxing squared off as it was the power and precision of Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis going against the speed and size of ‘King’ Ryan Garcia.
Ultimately it was Davis (29-0, 27 KO) that triumphed as the knockout artist floored Garcia in round two before decisively closing it out in the seventh with a devastating body shot to end the night for everyone in the sold-out T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Garcia (23-1, 19 KO) was competitive throughout the fight and landed several shots that caught Davis’ attention until getting caught with the left hook to the body. The 24-year-old took a knee after a delayed reaction to the punch as blood leaked from his nose and referee Thomas Taylor counted him to 10 with 1:44 left in round seven.
The story and highlight of the fight may have been Davis’ power but it was actually the difference in technique, experience and adjustments that led to the finish. Even though Garcia had a higher output, it was Davis who landed 48% of his power shots overall.
Despite the heavy trash talk between them, much of which centred upon the 10-pound rehydration clause that Davis mandated in the negotiation, both fighters embraced after the finish, which aligned with Davis’ pre-fight prediction of a seventh-round knockout.
Garcia reaffirmed after the bout that he has plans to move up and stay at 140 lbs where there are plenty of names for him to regain momentum such as former undisputed super lightweight king Josh Taylor who is fighting former unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez, Jose Ramirez and former foe of Davis, Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero who just moved up and is looking to challenge for the WBA title.
For Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, his next opponent should come in the form of the winner of a May 20th showdown between Undisputed lightweight champion Devin ‘The Dream’ Haney and Vasiliy Lomachenko, arguably the two most skilled and elite fighters in the division.