By Vince D’Writer: “He’s a kid, man, I would kill him; he could be my sparring partner though,” was the response Gervonta Davis gave back in January 2018 when asked about a potential matchup with Ryan Garcia, but now Garcia isn’t a 19-year-old kid anymore, and on Saturday night the Davis vs. Garcia clash will finally happen.
Ryan Garcia placed Gervonta Davis on his radar back in 2018, but the potential matchup between the two rising stars didn’t become a hot topic until three years later when Garcia was a guest on Mike Tyson’s Hotboxin podcast.
“Two rounds baby, two rounds, two rounds, I don’t care, I have you on pause, two rounds. Two rounds, and you’re going to sleep. Hey, it’s not going to hurt, I promise it’s not going to hurt,” Garcia stated during a heated video chat with Davis live on Mike Tyson’s podcast.
After the podcast episode, the rivalry continued to gain momentum as both Davis and Garcia called each other out publicly, and they also participated in a war of words via social media. After all of the call-outs, the verbal jabs on social media, and a complicated negotiation process, the fight was finally made.
Immediately after the matchup between Davis and Garcia was officially announced, it transitioned from a highly anticipated fight into a bout in which Davis became the overwhelming favorite. Garcia and his fans believe he can pull off the upset, but the boxing community and the boxing public thinks otherwise.
Gervonta “Tank” Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) built his fanbase by consistently producing electrifying knockouts, as he currently holds a 92 percent knockout ratio. In addition to being a knockout artist, Tank Davis is a complete fighter who has all the tools.
Ryan “KingRy” Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs) built his fanbase primarily from his social media platform. Due to the method, he used to build his fanbase; some boxing fans initially referred to Garcia as being a YouTube boxer as opposed to an authentic fighter.
However, in the past few years, Garcia has changed the minds of some of his doubters by performing at a high level when he’s inside the squared circle. Even though Garcia has developed into an exceptional pro boxer, many believe it’s not enough to defeat Tank Davis.
While Davis is a well-rounded boxer, Garcia is more of a one-dimensional fighter who has mastered setting up and delivering his money shot. Garcia’s left hook is a lethal weapon that has produced the majority of his 19 career knockout victories.
Fight fans have been wanting this fight for years, but now that it’s almost here, some of them see it as another knockout win for Gervonta Davis. It is believed that the fighter who has a chance to eventually defeat Gervonta Davis will have to be a special talent, and Ryan Garcia is viewed as a talented fighter, but he’s not categorized as “special.”
With all the doubt circulating through the air, the question is, how can Ryan Garcia defeat Gervonta Davis? For Ryan, it all starts with the jab. Garcia has sparingly used his jab in his past bouts, but for this particular fight, he needs to throw the jab on a regular basis in order to set up the rest of his offense.
Since Garcia has the height and reach advantages, it would be beneficial for him to utilize the jab, especially in the early part of the fight to establish the range and distance. Davis is normally inactive for the first quarter of his bouts, so it’s very important for Garcia to stay busy on the offensive end.
Garcia establishing the jab is easier said than done due to Tank’s ability to probe and parry his opponent’s lead hand. In addition to the jab, Garcia needs to throw the lead hook and straight punches in order to score and build a lead while Davis is downloading the data.
Ryan has to take advantage of the offensive opportunities that may be presented to him early in the fight, but at the same time, he must attack intelligently and not make the mistake of reaching or over-committing. As the fight progresses to the halfway point, that’s the time period when Davis becomes very dangerous.
By this time, Gervonta Davis has all of the information, and he’s ready to start the process of pressing forward and systematically breaking his opponent down. Tank is a threat when he uses feints and lateral movement. If he gets too far inside, Garcia may want to force a clinch and make Tank reset due to the fact that Ryan Garcia’s inside game is non-existent.
In a perfect world, Garcia wants to control the fight from the outside, but when Davis is pressing forward, Garcia must identify his opportunity to step back and catch Davis with his signature counter left hook. The major fight keys that must be applied in order for Garcia to place himself in a position to win is the jab, controlling the distance, straight punches, timing, patience, clinching, and setting up the left hook.
Ryan Garcia has wanted this fight for a significant amount of time due to the fact that a victory over Tank Davis will bury the narrative of Garcia being a YouTube fighter, and it will also set him up in regards to future fights against other big-name opponents.
On April 22nd at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, airing live on Showtime pay-per-view and streaming on DAZN, Ryan Garcia will step inside the ring as the underdog, but if he is able to successfully execute his game plan, he could walk out of the ring as the new face of boxing.
