The fight boxing fans have been waiting so patiently for appears to have cleared its final hurdle, at least according to retired great turned Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya. Ryan Garcia vs Gervonta Davis will apparently go down on April 15, 2023 in Paradise, Nevada (venue TBA).
โDevil is in the details April 15 letโs go!โ Oscar De La Hoya captioned an image of himself and Garcia holding what is ostensibly a contract for the upcoming hostilities at 135lbs between the two young rivals.
Over the weekend, De Lay Hoya threatened to scrap the highly-anticipated bout between Ryan Garcia (23-0, 19 knockouts) and the reigning WBA lightweight title champion โTankโ Davis (28-0, 26 knockouts) thatโs been in development for some time unless some paperwork came through after the US federal holiday (Martin Luther King Jr Day). And clearly, imposing a deadline worked.
RELATED: Paddy Pimblett Accepts Jake Paulโs $1 Million Boxing Challenge
โThe terms have been agreed upon. Everything is agreed upon: the venue, the money, the split for the fighters, for Tank, for Ryan. Everything is great. All we need is to put it on the long form. Thatโs basically it,โ Oscar De La Hoya revealed prior to receiving the contract.
โIโve never heard of a fight getting made a day before the fight or the week of the event โ itโs unheard of. So I donโt know what [Stephen] Espinoza was talking aboutโฆ hopefully we can get this wrapped up.โ
Tank Davis recently defeated Hector Luis Garcia on January 7 as a tune-up fight, while Ryan Garcia is sticking by his rather ill-advised decision to forgo a tune-up altogether, instead electing to keep his calendar wide open and focus singular until he faces Davis inside the ring, wherein only one of them will be able to walk away with their undefeated status intact; while the other will wear the defeat on their once-pristine record from now until the end of time.
Many view this as Ryan Garciaโs biggest challenge yet as a professional boxer, and one that few can envision him walking away from victorious. While he certainly possesses elite hand speed, a mean check hook, a meaner straight right, and has been steadily evolving across the years, pundits and spectators alike have often been critical of his defensive capabilities. Particularly when it comes to his lack of head movement, lack of lateral movement, and tendency to leave his chin wide open.
Tank Davis, on the other hand, is viewed as the far more well-rounded athlete with bone-shattering punching power. Where there was some margin for error in Garciaโs previous fights โ i.e. being knocked down by 2012 Olympic gold medallist Luke Campbell in Round 2 of their encounter, January 2021 (see: below) โ he simply cannot afford to slip up against a world-beater of Davisโ rarefied calibre. One clean touch and it could very well be lights out.
RELATED: โUndisputedโ Is The Boxing Game Weโve All Been Waiting For
โPrediction for the fight โ I say Iโll beat him in about two rounds,โ Ryan Garcia boldly told The Joe Pomp Show.
โPart of me knows that I am just better than him. What Iโve seen from him. What I know about myself. What I know they are underestimating, just by the way he speaks and just how he fights.โ
โBut my main thing is that I donโt think heโs really ever understood adversity in a professional ring in his career. I think heโs always had an understanding that nothing can go wrong because of the talent heโs facing. I donโt think heโs felt any risk in the ring.โ
Garcia added: โWhen Iโm in there, obviously he knows itโs a different level of speed and power, and that I am not oblivious to the different shots heโs trying to land, which are sometimes obvious that he throws. I think that heโll start facing the pressure that this is a lot harder than he may have thought. And I wonโt let off the gas when I feel that.โ
โBut this is boxing. You have to make adjustments on the fly. This is only what I see from the outside. On the inside, itโs all going to play out.โ
RELATED: The Reason Why Tyson Fury Just Called Out This 9-12 Journeyman
Naturally, Davis had to address these comments: โRyan has high hopes. Heโs a fighter. Fighters have to speak highly and think highly of themselves. Heโs talking, and heโs actually putting in the work.โ
โHeโs not taking any fights and heโs focusing on me. We canโt overlook his statement. You know what I mean? We just have to be mindful that heโs coming. I definitely have to be prepared. Iโll make sure to prepare myself just as much or much harder than him.โ
โ[Two rounds] โ thatโs a strong prediction. I feel as though two rounds โ thatโs crazy,โ Tank said with a laugh.
โ[Rolando Romero] said the same thing. I donโt know what theyโre thinking. [Garcia has] seen it personally sitting up close. He made a bet with Errol Spence and he lost that bet. Tell him to bet again, for sure.โ
At the time of this writing, Gervonta Davis is the better favourite at $1.34 while Ryan Garcia sits at $3.75, as per the mathematical geniuses over at Sportsbet.
Ryan Garcia vs Gervonta Davis will, of course, be a Showtime pay-per-view event. Due to the agreement in place, however, North American fans can catch the superfight via DAZN the day they finally meet.
