Mario Barrios can hurt Tank Davis says Mikey Garcia

By Boxing News - 06/22/2021 - Comments

By Eric Flaherty: Mikey Garcia says Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis is in for a tough fight this Saturday night against WBA World welterweight champion Mario Barrios (26-0, 17 KOs) at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Davis vs. Barrios will be shown on Showtime pay-per-view.

Given the lack of buzz for the contest with boxing fans, it might have been a blunder on Mayweather Promotions and Showtime’s part to place the Davis – Barrios fight on PPV because it might not sell.

It’s one thing placing Tank vs. Leo Santa Cruz on Showtime PPV, but it’s a different story when it comes to Tank-Barrios. That’s not a marketable fight due to Barrios being largely an unknown champion.

Does Tank Davis vs. Mario Barrios belong on PPV?

Fights like this are better suited for regular Showtime because more fans will tune in.

If Gervonta and/or his promoters at Mayweather Promotions hand-picked the 26-year-old Barrios because they thought was an easy mark, they could be mistaken.

This is going to be a tough fight for the unbeaten Tank (24-0, 23 KOs), and he could get hurt and lose, according to the former four-division world champion Mikey.

Tank, 26, is the favorite heading into the main event fight between him and the 5’10” Barrios on Saturday. Mayweather Promotions have picked Barrios well, noting that he doesn’t use his long reach and height.

Instead, Barrios chooses to brawl on the inside with his opponents, which is perfect for the much shorter 5’5 1/2″ Tank Davis.

Barrios isn’t an easy fight for Tank

“It’s a challenge for sure,” said Mikey Garcia to ESNEWS on what it’s like for a fighter to move up in weight.

“It’s not an easy task, but if that’s what Tank feels he’s got to do to gain more recognition and prove to everybody else and challenge himself a little more, then that’s what he’s decided to do.

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“It’s not an easy fight for Tank, it’s a tough fight,” said Mikey Garcia about Tank fighting Barrios.

“It’s very competitive, a very tough fight for Tank. Barrios, even though he’s taller, a bigger fighter with a longer, he doesn’t fight like that. He stays on the inside, he likes to trade punches,” said Mikey.

If Barrios can hang in there to the second half of the contest, he’ll have a chance of wearing Tank Davis down with his size. Tank is putting on weight for this fight, which will give Barrios a chance of winning.

Despite having a lot of hype about him, Tank hasn’t been a dominating fighter since moving up to 135, and he lets his promoters pick too many weak fighters.

It’s fair to say that Mayweather Promotions are stunting Davis’ career by matching him against flawed fighters. Maybe they don’t have faith in Davis that he can beat world-level fighters.

Gervonta could get hurt by Barrios

“It’s hard to say,” Mikey said when asked for a prediction on the Davis vs. Barrios fight. “He also can hurt Tank, so you never know. He’s a lot bigger.

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“He can hurt Tank or Tank can possibly hurt him too. Tank hits hard. That’s probably the best fight of this summer of what we’ve had already.

“The last few weeks we’ve had some good fights. I think that’s the more even match-up,” said Mikey Garcia about the Tank Davis vs. Mario Barrios fight.

Barrios has the size and the power to hurt and possibly stop Tank, but it’s not going to happen unless he can hang around and not get hurt early.