Via Sam Volz: The battle between Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and Ryan Garcia still has many hurdles to overcome before it becomes a reality on April 15 on Showtime PPV in Las Vegas.
Both fighters must pass their interim competitions without loss or injury. Tank (27-0, 25 KOs) opted for a stunt bout with WBA ultralight featherweight champion Hector Luis Garcia (16-0, 10 KOs) on January 7 in Washington, DC
It’s a fight that could prove very difficult for Tank, and even if he wins, there’s still a chance he gets slashed.
For his part, Ryan (23-0, 19 KOs) hasn’t revealed who his opponent will be to tune in, but he’ll probably take someone of quality as well, as he won’t want to be seen as a bad in the game. Compare with Tank.
As Dan Rafael pointed out, Tank Davis has a court date for allegedly hitting and running away. There’s a chance he’ll end up in jail for this. If that happens, his fight with Ryan will need to be pushed back.
Ryan and Tank should probably wait before making their announcement as there are too many unknowns right now for their fight to be certain.
“Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia are both eager to advance this fight. Dan Rafael told boxing society.
“Maybe not for the world title, but does anyone really care? They’re fighting in the 136-pound hot weight class. That means Gervonta’s second-place WBA title won’t be at stake, but that doesn’t matter. Most fans are interested in combat titles or no titles. In recent years, this is the biggest non-belt fight in boxing.
“Both fighters put on their social media. Ryan issued a press release. the people at Showtime admitted that the fight was agreed. They sent in a few comments from their boss Stephen Espinoza.
“Everybody involved agrees that there is a deal, but as you know, in boxing, the devil is in the details. At least for now, Tank Davis will join a temporary war. He is due to fight on January 7 in Washington, DC
“He must win that war [against Hector Luis Garcia]. He has to come out of that fight unscathed, and it’s very likely that Ryan Garcia will join a makeshift fight.
“The same rules apply. He’s going to have to win and make sure he comes out unscathed. I know temporary wars are dangerous because weird things can happen. Definitely a loss, maybe an injury, maybe a cut that keeps the game from going as planned. You would hope that doesn’t happen.
“You also have the problem that Gervonta Davis is facing criminal charges in a Baltimore court in an incident that is believed to have occurred in November 2020. A trial date is set for mid-February.
“He faces 14 charges of a hit-and-run accident. Obviously, if he is found guilty in the trial, he could end up in jail. He faces up to 50 months in prison, and there’s a lot that could happen.
“It’s another thing on the laundry list that has to be checked before they can sign papers, which everyone admits hasn’t signed. So they’ve agreed to break up, they’ve agreed on dates, they’ve agreed on weights, they’ve agreed to fight each other, they’ve agreed to what the broadcasters will do.
DAZN has strongly promoted their participation. Showtime, working with Davis, said, “Absolutely not.” We’re not interested in working together.’ In the end, they came to an agreement that, in effect, DAZN would stay out of the case. Will be Showtime production and distribution.
“People in the United States can buy the battle on DAZN, but in essence, they will buy Showtime pay-per-view. If that happens and materializes, then it’s good for boxing, good for the fans, good for the boxers.
“The war is still far away. Not even a contract has been signed. I’m pretty sure when that happens, if that happens, the people of your ancient jungle will be able to watch this amazing battle.
“Both are prime and they are putting that zero at risk, not even for a title. For better or worse, Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia were able to do just that.
“There are members of their team who are not happy about the deal. Golden Boy Promotions, if you talk to them privately, they are happy to give their people a chance, but they are dominant in this fight.
“They’re taking the end of the stick in this one. Ryan Garcia is getting the short ending. They’ve basically done everything Davis’s team wanted, and they’ve given in, they’re getting less money, they’re using someone else’s broadcasting platform.
“Based on what I know, it’s really not a great thing for them, but how much Ryan Garcia wants this fight, and he should be applauded. People have mocked him, mocked him and mocked him for various reasons and because he has so many followers on Instagram.
“No one should argue or argue about this guy’s hunger. He really, really wants this fight, and Davis wants this fight, too. He also needs to be praised.
“I don’t think it really matters,” Rafael said of the Davis vs Garcia match without the title on the rope. “It just means that his side title isn’t available, which isn’t really considered a world title anyway.
“I don’t think that’s a big factor. I don’t think Davis is saying, ‘If I lose at 136, I can still win my belt.’ I think Ryan was really comfortable in the last two bouts he entered in 2022 where he fought near the 140 lb limit.
“Tank Davis was fighting at 140 when he knocked out Barrios and he won the extra belt in that weight class too. I don’t think that’s a big advantage [136] or damage to either boxer.
“You have to get the Golden Boy and [Ryan] Garcia on the same page. You let Garcia put extreme pressure on them [Golden Boy and DAZN], saying, ‘I don’t care what it takes. You better make this fight.’
“I think they realized, ‘That we either go with him and he stays with us, or if we play tough and don’t let him fight, he won’t. fight, and he’ll leave us, and there’ll be a lawsuit, and it’ll be like what happened to Canelo.’
“So it’s like, choose your poison. They will put their money in the middle of the table and hope their guy wins the match. He then hopes to return to DAZN afterwards as a much bigger name if he beats Tank Davis.
“Which means that Tank is going to be a bit popular. With die-hard boxing fans, he has a better background and people know him better. Davis has a few more names on his record, even if they’re the ones who don’t have the best weight and are a bit past their prime.
“Ryan Garcia has fought some good opponents, but he doesn’t have a name like Leo Santa Cruz or even Gamboa. They’re the ones Tank beat pretty easily by knockout, but they’re past their best days, but they don’t have the level of popularity.
“I think Tank is considered to have better single punch power. Listen, it’s a competitive war. I can’t wait for this fight. How can it be anything other than entertainment? They will talk a lot about this war.
“I hope all the things that need to happen will happen. I won’t get too excited until I know it’s signed on paper, that they’ve won the interim skirmishes unscathed, that Gervonta’s legal situation has been resolved, and that they have place and ticket is on sale, and there is a press conference and press release.
“The job is done. Right now, that’s just the promise that it will be fulfilled. Forgive me, but I don’t hold much promise in boxing. I am big in the action in boxing.
“I won’t fall for nonsense until it’s done. I feel like the one who wants this fight to go and won’t take the answer as no is Ryan Garcia. He said to his men and his lawyers, ‘Let’s end this war and don’t tell me about some other war.’
“They will talk about a temporary war when this deal is done. Ryan Garcia willingly refused to answer and brought Davis, who also wanted a big fight.
“He’s fought a lot of decent names, but he’s never had a fight of this magnitude. This is really a big deal for these young men,” Rafael said.
