Nick Peet: Gervonta Davis vs Ryan Garcia

BOXING finally lands a knockout victory on Saturday night with a much-needed superfight that should blow the cobwebs off pay-per-view figures and remind the world how boxing done right is sport’s greatest spectacle.

Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis vs ‘King’ Ryan Garcia is an example of how the biggest fights can get made when there is enough desire from the athletes to push through the politics and chase legacy moments.

Both are guaranteed eight figure pay days when the smoke clears at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where no belts are necessary as two of the sport’s most talented young superstars challenge for much more than gold.

CORONATION DAY

Davis, 28, is already a multi-weight champion, a proven PPV fighter in the USA, and is on course to follow in the footsteps of one-time mentor Floyd Mayweather as boxing’s biggest money maker.

But he puts it all that on the line against Garcia, who may not hyet ave the same in-ring experience as Davis, but brings momentum and pull to the table. The most successful fighter on social media, the 24-year-old’s online presence ensures monumental traffic and PPV buys.

Davis’ 28-0 record features 26 knockouts across four weight classes. But he’s cleverly jumped around the divisions to feed a desire to collect belts and maximise revenue; very orchestrated matchmaking.

Gervonta Davis (28-0) has 26 knockouts to his record.

Is his uppercut KO of Leo Santa Cruz his best yet?#Boxing #DavisGarcia pic.twitter.com/7XwHUq3Yop

— Boxing DIRT (@BoxingDIRT) April 18, 2023

However, that shouldn’t take away from the fact the man is a sensational fist-fighter, and he’s at the peak of his powers.

Four years younger, Garcia is yet to hit his peak. Unbeaten in 23 fights with 19 knockouts, what he lacks in experience he makes up for in stature. Naturally bigger, he’s four inches taller and three inches longer reach.

That advantage has been curtailed somewhat by Tank, however, with this fight being made at 136lb and Garcia, more recently a 140lb fighter, restricted to weighing in sub 146lb on fight night.

FAST & FURIOUS

One thing we do know about Garcia is he has heart. He was dropped heavy by Hull’s Olympic gold medalist Luke Campbell in 2021, but rose back to his feet to dominate the round and ultimately land a TKO victory.

For all of his experience, we’ve never really seen Davis hurt. How will he react if he gets dropped and embarrassed in this his biggest fight too?

Garcia has to fly out for the opening bell. Davis is a notoriously slow starter and he has to hurt him early too, drain Tank to ensure he’s not as strong as usual in the second half of the fight.

Garcia is sharp, has incredibly fast hands and loves facing southpaws. He starts fast, has a deadly lead left hook and unnatural concealed power.

#Etsi Ryan Garcia mettait un KO à Gervonta Davis… pic.twitter.com/IHEt8N6PPl

— LA CAGE (@yl_lacageMMA) April 14, 2023

Davis’ power is anything but concealed, as his KO percentage proves. But he’s also got sublime footwork, understands the importance of punching to the body and possesses patient fight IQ.

He’s not afraid to be behind on the scorecards because he always finds a way to win. And usually in style too.

It’s important Davis controls the pace of the fight, especially early, to allow himself to take over as the predator in the closing stages.

Expect Garcia to lead. But if he’s not dropped or at least rocked Davis by the midway point, he’s going to be struggling to stay upright down the stretch.

If he does though, he may just have banked enough rounds to take it on almost certainly controversially on the scorecards.

NICK’s TIP

Billed as ‘It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This‘ this super fight is dividing opinion the world over. Tank or King, red hot Nick has his say!