By Adam Baskin: Ryan Garcia wants to run it back with Gervonta Davis because he feels he wasn’t at 100% for their mega-fight last April due to the rehydration clause in the contract, which prevented him from being fully hydrated to be at full strength.
Ryan (23-1, 19 KOs) has a fight he needs to get out of the way against Oscar Duarte (26-1, 21 KOs) on December 2nd on regular DAZN at the 19,000-seat Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
If Ryan wins that fight, he’ll be in action early next year against one of these big three:
- Gervonta Davis
- Teofimo Lopez
- Devin Haney
The biggest money fight of those three would probably be Tank Davis (29-0, 27 KOs), but that might not work out if Mayweather Promotions chooses to place A-side tricks by looking to game him by insisting on a rehydration clause to increase the chances of their money-maker winning.
Mayweather Promotions doesn’t want to see their faithful oil well run dry, as Tank Davis has poured in money by the truck full without taking any risky fights. If they can weasel Ryan into agreeing to another rehydration clause, it improves the chances of Tank winning a second time.
The Tank Davis oil well will eventually wind up as a dry-duster, but Mayweather Promotions will do their utmost to prevent that from happening for as long as possible, which means a rehydration clause will be something Ryan Garcia will need to agree to if he wants the chance to avenge his loss to the ‘Face of Boxing.’
Ryan Garcia was weight-drained
“I can’t wait for you guys to see this. December 2nd, live on DAZN. It’s going to be awesome,” said Ryan Garcia on social media about his next fight against Oscar Duarte.
“Going back to that Tank fight. That rehydration clause was tough because you don’t know how your body responds to having no water until you have no water.”
If Ryan Garcia is going to improve, he’ll need to add more to his offensive arsenal. Against Tank Davis, he was throwing nothing but left hooks all night, which is ultimately what led to him getting knocked out in the seventh.
Ryan threw four consecutive left hooks, and Tank was ready after the fourth to counter him with a body shot.
“I thought it was going to be good. It’s not the fact that I didn’t have any water,” said Ryan. “My body felt chronically dehydrated. I was like, ‘Wow, what do I do here?’ I just felt weak, I didn’t feel there at all. That’s not a knock.
“I signed the contract, and there was nothing that I could do at that point. I just kind of wanted to put that bull s**t of boxing aside and fight. I’m not going to let this stuff get in the way again,’ said Garcia.
It’s unbelievable that a fighter as popular as Ryan Garcia agreed to the rehydration clause because Tank would have fought him anyway, even at the full weight for the 140-lb division.
Ryan didn’t realize how desperate Tank Davis and his promoters were because it’s not like they have any other options for big-money fights. Mayweather Promotions and PBC will never put Tank Davis in risky fights, so they would have done anything to get the match with Ryan.
“Boxing has suffered too long. You’ve seen now with Showtime leaving the game; boxing has suffered because these guys have been trying to protect the O,” said Ryan.
“Okay, trust me, losing sucks, but it’s what’s going to happen when you’re at the top level. It’s how you show when you’re a true champion. It’s how you bounce back and how you learn from your mistakes.
“If you’re just trying to protect your O and trying to fight guys that you feel super comfortable to beat or put yourself in the best position to where you can’t lose, it gets repetitive, and it gets boring. I was like, ‘I’m done with that,'” said Garcia.
That’s the curse of the Mayweather marination formula that has ripped boxing, as promoters think if they marinate fights the way Floyd Mayweather did against Manny Pacquiao, they, too, will hit the jackpot. That doesn’t work because fans lose interest, especially when fighters lose while marinating fights.
You can argue the ONLY reason Mayweather waited so long to fight Pacquiao is because he was flat-out scared of getting knocked out like Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton because when Manny was on top of his game and still young, he was dangerous.
Mayweather didn’t fight Pacquiao until he was old and had been beaten by Juan Manuel Marquez and Tim Bradley. There was no genius involved on Mayweather’s side in marinating the fight with Pacquiao.
It was just plain fear, which is why Mayweather didn’t fight Shane Mosley until he got old and never fought Bradley. Fear is a terrible thing.
Tank-Garcia brought in $100M revenue
“Yeah, I felt like I did good, and I inspired a lot of other fighters to fight,” said Ryan. “Now, it’s like moving boxing ahead. Now, I’m ready to bang with everybody, but on my terms and in a way because I showed my worth in that fight [with Tank Davis]. I made it known in order to make some good money; you’ve got to make some big fights happen.
“We brought in a $100 million+ in revenue for that fight. That hasn’t been done for so long, and we did it, Tank and I. It just proves that you need two to tango. That’s another reason why I didn’t put this fight on pay-per-view. It’s just robbing the fans,” said Ryan.
It’s good that Ryan didn’t put his fight with Duarte on PPV because the timing is bad, and boxing fans fans have no clue who he is.
Putting the fight on PPV would mean fewer people would see it, which in the long run would hurt Ryan’s growth, just as it’s been doing with Gervonta Davis. He’d be a lot more popular if he and his promoters weren’t so greedy all these years.
Of course, Tank would also be a lot more popular if he’d been facing the fighters that fans have wanted to see him face during his ten-year career instead of guys they had no interest in.
“Of course, Oscar is a very important opponent; he’s tough, and he’s a knockout puncher, but the general public doesn’t know him, so why would I put that on pay-per-view? Come on, guys. It doesn’t make sense,” said Ryan.
“It’s a subscription [on DAZN]. You still have to pay a monthly subscription, but it’s not as expensive as pay-per-view. So, it’s all good. I’m learning a lot under Derrick. It’s been great,” said Garcia.
Not looking past Oscar Duarte
“It’s going to be a great day. I’m not looking past Oscar,” said Ryan about Duarte. “It’s going to be a tough fight. I’ve got to have my full focus on that. Obviously, there are big fights ahead, Teofimo, Devin Haney, and all those killers at 140.”
Ryan Garcia could be doomed if he’s not got his head on straight and focused on the danger that Duarte presents. This guy can punch, and you can bet that he’ll be following Tank’s blueprint by attacking Ryan with body shots.
“I’m super with those fights, and I’m going to be looking forward to them after this one,” said Ryan. “Again, I can’t lose focus on the main prize. I can’t get too excited. I know I’m feeling good, but I can’t get too excited. I have to remain humble and ready for what’s next.
“Yeah, that’s one of my goals after tasting my first loss is running that back. I feel like under different circumstances, I’ll be able to perform much better, and much better and more alert the next go-round,” said Ryan Garcia about wanting the rematch with Gervonta Davis.
“Again, I’m going to build this up crazy, and I’m going to build up that hype again, and then we’re going to run it back. We have to run it back. That’s what I want to run in the future, but I’ve got to stay focused. I can’t get too excited, and that’s it.
“I’m here to make a statement and make it really loud & clear. This is who I am. I feel super sharp. I feel pre-covid but even better. I’m super excited. Working with Derrick [James] has been nothing but a blessing. I’m just thankful for just having that opportunity to be part of this team,” said Ryan.
