By Robert Segal: Showtime executive Stephen Espinoza is saying once again that the Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis vs. Ryan Garcia mega-fight is “very close” to being done.
The TV networks need to be worked out before the Tank-Ryan fight is a done deal, says Espinoza. With Tank (27-0, 25 KOs) fighting on Showtime and Ryan Garcia on DAZN, it doesn’t benefit either network for them to share the fight.
“I think that’s very close as well. We sort of have a deal largely in place. There are some details largely to be worked out,” said Showtime’s Stephen Espinoza to Town Bizznizz sports and ent about the Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis vs. Ryan Garcia negotiations.
“The TV networks need to be worked out. Our position is very clear, and we’ll see what everyone says. But in terms of the fighters, Ryan wants the fight next, and Tank wants that fight next. Neither of them are looking at any other fight.
“With a little bit of luck, we’ll get both of them [Tank vs. Ryan & Errol Spence Jr vs. Terence Crawford] in the near future,” said Espinoza.
Despite Ryan’s large social media following on Instagram, Twitter & YouTube, he’s still not a big enough boxing star for a fight between him and Tank Davis to be a huge enough one where the rival networks, DAZN & Showtime, will both do well from this fight.
Ryan (23-0, 19 KOs) still needs to build his brand in boxing by fighting relevant fighters, not the old guys that he’s been facing, before a clash with WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Tank will be big enough to share between two networks.
That’s what happens in boxing. When a promotional company matches a fighter carefully, keeping away from talented opposition to build a record that looks better than it actually is, it keeps them from becoming a star because their mismatches against lesser opposition fail to create interest from hardcore boxing fans that know what’s going on.
You can argue that’s what’s been happening with Ryan Garcia since he turned professional. His promoters have been matching Ryan against tomato cans, and the only reason he’s popular is because of his large social media following. Hence, Ryan is called an “Instagram boxer.” Ryan posts a lot of pictures of himself on Instagram, and the teens go for it.
Unfortunately, Ryan’s boxing career hasn’t matched his social media because he’s being matched against older fighters way past their prime to make him look better than he actually is.
Espinoza has been saying roughly the same thing about the Tank vs. Garcia fight being close to being done for a while now, and still, nothing has happened.
