By Sam Volz: Negotiations between Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and challenger Ryan Garcia are still dragging on without an agreement.
Lance Pugmire says that “nothing determined yet” between the talks for the Tank vs. Ryan fight, which isn’t all that surprising.
It’s going to be a tough match-up to get across the finish line, as WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Tank Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) has accomplished a lot more in his boxing career compared to Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs).
Not only is Tank a current world champion and former three-division champ, but he’s also a proven pay-per-view fighter. In contrast, the 23-year-old Ryan has turned down title shots and has never fought for a belt despite having opportunities.
What the Golden Boy promoted Ryan Garcia does have going for him is his 9 million followers on Instagram. However, those followers aren’t necessarily boxing fans, and it’s unclear whether they would be willing to purchase a fight between Ryan and Tank Davis on pay-per-view.
I’m told there’s “nothing determined yet” and that @RyanGarcia and @Gervontaa are “still in discussions.”
— Lance Pugmire (@pugboxing) September 9, 2022
Considering the huge imbalance in negotiation pull, it’s hard to imagine the Tank vs. Garcia fight getting made. You can always hope, but it’s not looking good right now.
For the Davis-Garcia fight to happen, Ryan will need to move back down to 135, as that’s where Tank’s promoter Floyd Mayweather Jr wants the contest to take place.
Ryan’s last fight against former super featherweight champion Javier Fortuna was at 140 last July, and he looked good, stopping him in six rounds.
It would be better if Ryan had more experience and captured at least one world title before attempting to negotiate a fight with Tank Davis, but that might be asking for too much.
For Ryan to win a world title at 135, he would need to challenge undisputed champion Devin Haney, and thus far, he’s shown no interest in doing that.
Ryan could potentially win a belt at 140, but given his rankings and the tough killers he would need to beat to capture a title in that division, it’s questionable whether that will happen.
You’d have to see Ryan thrown into the ring with dangerous punchers like Regis Prograis or Jose Zepeda. Those guys probably have too much experience and power for Ryan at this point.
