By Jeff Aronow: Golden Boy Promotions may need to slow down the progression for Ryan Garcia before they eventually match him against lightweight world champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.
According to Teddy Atlas, Tank Davis (23-0, 21 KOs) has a little bit more experience going for him in his seven-year career compared to the 21-year-old Ryan, who hasn’t yet been given a true test by his promoters at Golden Boy.
Ryan Garcia = Next Canelo Alvarez
Trainer Atlas is already calling Ryan Garcia ‘The NEXT Canelo Alvarez,’ and he believes he’s going to save Golden Boy by giving them a star that can take over as the next gravy train fighter. Garcia can bring in the green for Golden Boy as the new star once Canelo hangs up his gloves.
They obviously want to bring King Ryan (20-0, 17 KOs) along slowly, and it would be a mistake if they put him in with someone that is dramatically better than the guys he’s been matched against.
With the mean left hook that Ryan possesses, he might be even better than Canelo. Ryan has that one-punch power that is more like Julian Jackson than Canelo, and there aren’t too many fighters at 135 that can take that kind of a punch.
Gervonta had problems with Gamboa
“Neither guy has fought anybody in a fight that answered questions in your mind,” said Atlas to THE FIGHT with Teddy Atlas. “Davis has the edge there. He’s more experienced, and he’s fought better competition in a little bit better, and he did get tested a little bit in his last fight against Gamboa.
“That’s the good news. The bad news is he [Gamboa] wasn’t supposed to be. Gamboa was shot. I can only speak what I believe. He’s a shot fighter, but he has plenty of heart, he’s an Olympic gold medalist, he’s been knocked out before this. But uncannily, he went 12 rounds and got stopped in the 12th round with Davis, right?
“He got hurt early with his leg, and he won’t up fighting injured for probably ten rounds. It was a disappointing performance in some ways. Maybe that was the problem. Davis thought he was going to knock him out, and when he didn’t, mentally, it screwed him up a little. That sometimes happens where you’re looking to go in and land one shot, and then you go home.
“When it doesn’t happen, then you’re not prepared for what you should be in a fight,” said Atlas.
Tank Davis did have difficulties beating 38-year-old former WBA featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa last December. Some boxing fans are blaming Tank’s complications on his issues with making the 135-lb weight for the fight, but it’s standard for him to get hit a lot by his opponents. What made the fight so hard for Tank was the chin of Gamboa. He took Tank Davis’ best shots and kept coming forward.
Tank Davis has faced tougher opposition than Ryan Garcia
“Having said that, Davis has been in a little tougher [than Ryan Garcia], even in a fight that wasn’t supposed to be tough,” said Atlas. “I’m not saying it was tough, but it was tougher than people thought it was going to be, and Davis thought it was going to be. He won’t just about every round or most rounds.
“So the advantage goes to Davis as far as experience and as far as having faced a little bit of music. He’s faced a little bit more of it inside the ring. Davis is a physically strong guy, a good puncher, aggressive. Garcia is the boxer. So if that fight happens, you’re going to have a fighter vs. a slugger, and that’s beautiful for promoters and fans.
“You’re going to have Garcia on the outside looking to box and catch Davis coming in, and you’re going to have Davis, for the most part, trying to get in. I think the edge right now probably would be for Davis because he’s a little bit more mature, a little bit more tested, a little bit more experienced,” said Atlas.
This is an area that Golden Boy Promotions needs to be wary of before they put Ryan in with Tank. The experience that Tank has over Ryan is going to give him a huge advantage when or if the contest goes into the deeper rounds.
As a professional, Garcia hasn’t had to dig deep to bail himself out of a tough fight before due to the soft match-making by Golden Boy.
If Ryan lands that shot on Tank’s chin, he’ll likely knock him out like he’s done with 17 of his 20 opponents during his career.
Garcia’s promoters to follow Canelo blueprint
“That fight’s not going to happen right now,” Atlas said of the Garcia vs. Tank Davis fight. “I don’t think because I think Garcia’s promoters [Golden Boy] are going to follow the same blueprint that they developed with Canelo.
“Don’t put him in that signature fight until he’s ready. Wait until he’s ready and give him a little bit more time, and I think he could use a little bit more time,” Teddy said about Ryan Garcia.
“Right now, Davis has the edge, but by the time it comes around, I’ve got a funny feeling that they’re [Golden Boy Promotions] good at picking the right time over there. It would be the kind of fight where you wouldn’t need Teddy Atlas, who the networks’ power brokers out there, the executives in the networks would rather win.
“I think they’d rather see Garcia win because of the image, and all the stuff I explained and because he’s got that great Latino market behind him where if he’s built right, he can make a lot of money. He means more to the box office thank Tank Davis does if he’s brought along the right way,” said Atlas.
What Atlas is driving at here is that Golden Boy will wait until Tank Davis is starting to get old, and showing signs of slippage before they let Ryan fight him. However, that doesn’t make sense because Tank is only 25.
Unless Golden Boy wants to wait 10 years before they let Ryan fight Tank, they’re going to need to ut the fight together between them while he’s still young. Ryan is only four years younger than Tank, and that means Golden Boy can’t do what they did with Canelo Alvarez by waiting until Gennadiy Golovkin had turned 35 before making the fight.
Ryan Garcia possesses a signature punch
“The network would sell it because of the image [of Garcia] of the good looks because he crosses over to bring the women into it too just like De La Hoya did,” Atlas said of Ryan Garcia. “De La Hoya did that when he was at his best. It’s great when a fighter has a signature punch.
“In this fight, one guy has a signature punch, and it’s Garcia. He would look to land that punch if they were fight. Davis would look to use his physicality and aggression and maybe relentlessness. For Garcia, he has a signature punch. It’s a real whip-like, sneaky left hook that gets inside of a right hand.
“If you start to throw your right hand and lunch from a little too far away, he can beat you to the mark. He’s got good vision, he’s calm, and he’s standing at a good distance where he has a good sense of distance. For him to win the fight, he’s got to fight on the outside, and Davis has got to get inside.
“He has a good sense of distance and vision where he can BANG. You start to throw that right hand a little too far, and he sees a little hole, a little daylight, and then all of a sudden, BAM. He just whips it right in there.
“It’s a devastating punch, and it’s a spectacular punch and a punch that’s going to move him forward to be everything his backers want him to be, it’s going to be a big part of his future, that punch. He’ll be looking to get Tank Davis in position where he can catch him with it,” said Atlas.
The left hook that Ryan possesses is what could be the deciding factor in a fight with Tank.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIzbzK-td2A&t=5s