By Jim Calfa: Bernard Hopkins revealed the game plan that Ryan Garcia would use on Saturday night against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, the “bull,” by telling the media that he’s going to be the “matador” inside the ring and use “finesse” to win their fight in Las Vegas.
Hopkins likens Tank (28-0, 26 KOs) to a small bull with horns, who will be charging the matador-like Ryan (23-0, 19 KOs) trying to spear him this Saturday, April 22nd, at the T-Mobile Arena.
It’s up to Ryan to “torture” the bull-like Gervonta with left hooks and frustrate him by making him miss with his wild swings.
Hopkins has already foreseen how Tank will fight because he knows him well from having studied his past fights, and he feels he’s going to be looking to take Ryan out one of his massive power shots that he used to knock Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero and Leo Santa Cruz senseless.
Ryan looked chinny in his fight against Luke Campbell, and since that fight, he’s fought two weak punchers, Emmanuel Tagoe and Javier Fortuna. It wasn’t an accident that Golden Boy Promotions chose to match Ryan against those two powder-puff punchers.
Hopkins says Ryan Garcia must “torture” Tank Davis
“Ryan has to be a matador. The bull is coming,” said Bernard Hopkins to the media. “Ryan will be, and Tank will be what he’s been. He can’t help himself. This fight is based on the matador and the bull. Can the bull [Tank Davis] get the matador?
“You take a risk because the bull is coming with those horns, right? The matador [Ryan Garcia] has got to be so smooth and sort of torturing the bull by throwing left hooks and finessing. I just gave you the game plan for the fight.
“This fight here tells everyone, including the haters, the winner of this fight [Davis-Garcia] will be the face of boxing. I’m pinning my credibility on it.
“The dehydration clause is something that someone is concerned about the height, and size, 24 hours after rehydrating. To me, that’s worry. That’s something you’re thinking about if I’m a fighter, and I dealt with the mind in my field for 20, 30 years. If I’m going to fight you, I’m going to fight you.
“I’m not going to get into dehydration. I’m going to whoop your a**. I don’t care. I don’t have no excuse when I beat you from you. ‘I had to dehydrate and I couldn’t rehydrate up to .2 or .1,” said Hopkins.
