By Vince D’Writer: A clash of the titans is on the horizon, and after a lengthy negotiation phase, the bout is set to go down on Saturday, April 22nd, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, as Gervonta “Tank” Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) will step inside the ring to face Ryan “KingRy” Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs).
This highly anticipated matchup features two boxers who both have large fanbases, both young, undefeated, and in the prime of their careers. They are bitter rivals who don’t like each other, and when they meet on April 22nd, somebody’s 0 has got to go.
Ryan Garcia has been calling Gervonta Davis out for the past few years, and he wanted this fight so badly to the point that he gave up multiple concessions in order to make the fight happen. Garcia is confident in his boxing ability, and he is looking forward to his clash with Davis because he believes a win against Davis will earn him the respect that he deserves.
The last time Gervonta Davis was in the ring, he competed in a tune-up type of bout in January against the reigning WBA super featherweight champion Hector Luis Garcia. It was business as usual, as Gervonta Davis posted a ninth round TKO victory.
Ryan Garcia elected to bypass the tune-up and focus on his preparation for his bout with Davis. Garcia hasn’t competed inside the ring since he scored an impressive sixth round TKO victory over Javier Fortuna back in July 2022.
After a long journey of callouts, trading words over social media, and a complicated negotiation process, the clash between Garcia and Davis is literally weeks away. The bout between the two boxers will be physically and mentally challenging, but for Garcia, the mental challenges have already begun.
Prior to battling inside of the squared circle, Davis and Garcia were scheduled to have a war of words outside the ring, as their first official press conference took place in New York on March 8. Ryan Garcia was prompt, but Gervonta Davis showed up two hours late, and his tardiness frustrated Garcia.
The second press conference took place the next day in Los Angeles, and this time Gervonta Davis was on time. While Garcia was at the podium, he spoke about how Davis was behind on the scorecards when he fought Mario Barrios, and Garcia’s words triggered a reaction from Tank Davis.
After hearing his opponent’s comment, Davis proceeded to use an intimidation tactic as he walked toward Garcia and placed his fist on Garcia’s jaw. After the press conference ended, Davis spoke about the incident during an interview, and he described Garcia’s chin as being “super soft like a pillow.”
In addition to Tank’s tactics, Ryan Garcia has to mentally deal with the doubt that is floating around. Aside from his fanbase, the majority of the general boxing public believes at some point during the fight, Gervonta Davis will knock out Ryan Garcia.
Even within the boxing community, the majority of the people who responded to the question believe Davis will knock out Garcia. Most of the top boxing trainers and elite boxers, such as Shakur Stevenson, Vasiliy Lomachenko, and Canelo Alvarez, all picked Davis to win.
Garcia has noticed and responded to some of the overwhelming doubt that he has been receiving since the fight was officially announced. The Davis vs. Garcia fight is a hot topic, and it’s a hard subject for the fighters to avoid, even when they’re doing a leisure activity. On Sunday, March 12th, coincidentally, both Davis and Garcia were in attendance for the NBA game between the Knicks and the Lakers.
While he was at the basketball game, Gervonta Davis had a conversation with two-time Academy Award winning actor Denzel Washington. The iconic actor, who is a fan of the sport of boxing, asked Davis who was next, and Davis’s response was, “Ryan.” Denzel reacted by saying, “oh yeah, that’s easy.”
Ryan Garcia is a talented undefeated fighter, but he will be playing the role of the underdog in his April 22nd showdown with Gervonta Davis. After hearing Denzel’s comment, Ryan Garcia posted a statement on social media, “Bring the whole world on; that’s how I’m feeling. Let the president Obama, whoever thinks it’s a cakewalk. I’m coming with fire.” Garcia concluded his post with a hashtag stating, shock the world.
