By Jim Calfa: In the aftermath of his loss to Gervonta Davis last Saturday night, Ryan Garcia is furious about the spy that infiltrated his training camp for the fight, passing along information of what they were working on to assist Tank’s team in helping him get the victory.
Although the sparring partner that acted as a mole hasn’t been identified yet, Mongolian fighter Erdenebat Tsendbaatar posted an apology on social media bout hurting Ryan Garcia in training camp with a body shot.
Many fans are now suspecting that Tsendbaatar was the spy in the camp, but that hasn’t been confirmed.
“Actually sad I had a mole in my camp,” Ryan Garcia said on Instagram. “Like WTF that’s crazy, but thank God it’s brought to light now.
“I’m just shocked that part of my team crossed me, someone, close to me. Unbelievable. But it’s a testimony that you must be aware of anyone.”
Ryan had been tipped off well ahead of time that Tank had a spy in the camp, but it’s unclear whether he fired his sparring partners. That would have been the logical move.
From there, Ryan’s trainer Joe Goosen should have changed the game plan to throw Tank Davis off. It doesn’t look like any of that happened, unfortunately for Ryan.
The spy was one thing, but what may have ultimately cost Ryan Garcia the fight was the effects of the rehydration clause and 136-lb catchweight. Ryan looked drained during the fight week, and even in the match, he looked thin and not as filled out and potent as he’d been in previous fights.
‼️ Ryan Garcia confirms he had a mole in his camp before the Gervonta Davis fight after 5-0 Mongolian sparring partner Erdenebat Tsendbaatar speaks out about hurting him to the body in sparring (something Gervonta knew about before the fight)… pic.twitter.com/lnJjjDVDIw
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) April 24, 2023
Ryan Garcia was drained during fight week
“The weight was an obvious factor during the week because not only did Ryan have to get to 136. He couldn’t just do what he wanted after the [weigh-in] and expect to get to 146, which was the rehydration weight for that fight,” said Chris Mannix to The Volume about Ryan Garcia dealing with a double whammy during the fight week with the 136-lb rehydration clause & 10-lb rehydration clause.
“Gervonta seemed to take advantage of it and poke fun at it [Ryan being drained] every chance he got. Even at the official weigh-in when they stood nose to nose, Gervonta said, ‘You look like you just worked out.’
“Gervonta was consistently poking Ryan by intimating that he was not in the right shape for this type of fight. That he was drained. But even if Ryan Garcia was allowed to rehydrate to whatever he wanted, I don’t think he would have won this fight.
“I’ve been a vocal critic of Gervonta. Mostly because I’ve gotten tired of the B & C-level fighters, he’s fought over the last five years. He has been a de facto world title holder in three weight classes but really a title holder in one. The IBF title at 130. It’s the only legitimate belt he’s held.
“I’ve harped on and prodded Gervonta to take fights like this. He goes out and takes a fight like this, and he was brilliant. He was absolutely phenomenal in this fight. He came in with a brilliant game plan. He knew that Ryan Garcia was going to look for that left hook early and often.
“You look at that sequence in the second round of the fight. He slipped not one, not two, but three Ryan Garcia hooks before he saw his opening and landed that left hand that put Garcia down.
“He kept his composure during those situations, he stuck to his game plan, and he nailed Ryan Garcia. This was the best performance of Geevonta’s career, and it came on the biggest stage against arguably the most difficult opponent,” said Mannix.
