By Adam Baskin: Henry Garcia says Ryan told him after his fight that he felt drained from the weight stipulations Gervonta Davis had put on him for their clash last Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Henry stated that Ryan (23-1, 19 KOs) told him that his “legs were gone” as soon as he entered the ring. The 10-lb rehydration clause & 136-lb catchweight proved to be too much for the 24-year-old Ryan, weakening him to the extent he was a knockout waiting to happen last night.
As far as the body shot stoppage in the seventh, Henry hints about a problem Ryan had that ties into him being taken out with a punch to the midsection. Whether Ryan was fighting with a rib injury or some other physical problem is unknown at this time.
Henry says he won’t reveal the issue now but leaves open the possibility of divulging his secret later. If Ryan had a rib injury going into the fight, that would explain why he took a knee in the seventh and didn’t get back up to continue fighting.
“He was gaining momentum, and I saw that. I told Ryan, ‘You elevated yourself back to a close decision. Just be careful,’ and then the body shot came,” said Henry Garcia to Fight Hub TV in reflecting on Ryan’s loss to Gervonta Davis.
“He did say it hurt him, and he said, ‘If I continue,’ he said he was going to get hurt. He said, ‘I’m not going to do that. He landed a good shot.’ There’s something else behind that, but I’m not going to reveal that at the moment, but the body shot did take its toll on him.
“Had he not taken those stipulations, this fight wouldn’t have occurred. He did tell me personally on a side note, ‘Dad, I did feel it as soon as I got in the ring. My legs were a little gone, but I wanted this fight,’ because he’s always dreamed about it, and it happened.
“You’re going to see more of Ryan, but at 140. When Tank dropped him, Ryan got right back up, so that should say something. These are shots that happen, and they’re sneaky. This happened to Ryan, and Ryan said, ‘I’m not going to continue because if I do that, I could be subjected to getting hurt for long term.’
“Right now, the doctor looked at him and just said, ‘You’re fine. Take a couple of months off and get back in there,'” said Henry Garcia.
