By Dan Ambrose: Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya says he doesn’t think it’s a good idea for Ryan Garcia not to take the tune-up fight against Mercito Gesta on January 28th to help keep him sharp for the Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis fight on April 15th.
“De La Hoya says that if it were up to him, Ryan (23-0, 19 KOs) would take the fight with the southpaw Gesta to stay active before fighting Tank in April.
Ryan, 23, revealed on Friday that he’ll be skipping his warm-up fight against the 35-year-old Gesta, and will go straight into the match with Tank Davis.
Many boxing fans believe that Ryan’s decision not to take a tune-up was based on him worrying about potentially losing out on his massive payday against Tank because he stands to make a ton of money in that fight.
Even if the remainder of Ryan’s career is one big fail, he’ll at least have the bag from his fight with Tank to live off of for the remainder of his life.
De La Hoya wanted Ryan to take a tune-up
“The terms have been agreed upon. So now it’s a matter of getting down to the details of everything and signing contracts,” said Oscar De La Hoya to Fight Hub TV when asked on Saturday if contracts have been signed for a Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis fight in April.
“Me as a fighter, if it was up to me, I would have taken that tune-up fight,” said De La Hoya in reacting to Ryan Garcia choosing not to take the January 28th tune-up match against Mercito Gesta to get prepared for the Tank Davis fight on April 15th.
“It would have been wise to keep his tools sharp just like Tank Davis is, but I believe Ryan wants to go straight to the Tank Davis fight. More power to him. It shows you that Ryan wants Tank Davis and only Tank Davis. It’s pretty ballsy, right?”
Tank Davis is taking a tune-up against Hector Luis Garcia on January 7th on Showtime PPV in a risky fight in Washington, D.C. Many boxing fans believe Hector Garcia is a tougher fight for Tank than Ryan Garcia and would beat him if they were to fight.
Hector has recent wins over Chris Colbert and Roger Gutierrez in 2022, and he could be a problem for Tank.
With Tank’s talent, he can afford to take risky tune-ups he’s not as vulnerable as Ryan is in the chin department. Ryan has had a couple of close calls in his career, and he’d looked shaky.
“It’s always a realistic notion when you have two fighters in the ring,” said De La Hoya when asked to comment on the view boxing fans have that Gervonta will KO Ryan when the fight happens. “Anybody can knock each other out.
“That’s always a given, especially with any punch between Tank and Ryan. If one lands, somebody is going out. That can always take place, but I just feel that Ryan and Tank are two elite athletes who are going to be in the peak of their careers. They’re going to be in great shape
“They’re going to take each other’s punches. I truly feel it’s going to be one for the ages. I feel this fight is going to be one of the best, action-packed fights that we’ve seen in a long time.
“Styles, that’s all. It’s all styles,” said De La Hoy when asked why Ryan Garcia will be the most difficult fight for Tank Davis in a long time. “The sneaky speed and power that Ryan possesses, and just the fact that he fights tall. If you take a look at Tank’s fights.
“Everyone that fights him fights small and always tries to look for the knockout. I think Ryan Garcia, the fact that he fights on his backfoot and fights tall, I think it has to be an advantage for Ryan Garcia. But Tank also has his advantages. To me, it’s an even fight.
“I expect this fight to happen in April. It’s going to be the biggest fight of the year between Ryan and Tank. I have to give to the fighters Ryan and Tank because they stepped up and did something that nobody else is doing in boxing, and that’s fighting each other at the peak of their careers, which is pretty cool.
“The date is already set for April. That’s what we’re gunning for. I’m not sure what legal problems Tank Davis is facing or is going through, but we do know that April is the date that we chose to make this fight happen,” said De La Hoya when asked if Tank Davis’ legal problems could result in the fight with Ryan being moved to a different date,” said De La Hoya.