Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia starred in one of the biggest boxing bouts of 2023.
‘Tank’ dropped Garcia early before ending things with a crisp body shot in the seventh, handing Garcia his first loss. The 26-year-old was vocal post-fight about issues he had making 135lbs on the scales and said he wouldn’t fight that low again. He also identified a rehydration limit of 10lbs as hindering him.
In an interview with Club Shay Shay, Garcia’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya said he wasn’t involved in the weight negotiations, stipulations he thinks gave his fighter no chance to win.
“I didn’t negotiate that fight. Ryan’s lawyers and advisors negotiated that rehydration clause and the purse bid, I was just like let me stand back, let me watch them make mistakes. I felt so bad for Ryan cause he was sucked up. He was a dead man [walking.] And then the next day you can’t weigh a certain amount, there’s no chance he’s gonna win against Tank, who’s a beast.”
Asked in what division he would like to see them run it back, De La Hoya said welterweight – likely a step too far for Davis.
“I would love to see it at 147. I’s too much for Tank, but it still would be an incredible competitive fight because Tank has the dog in him. He won’t go down easy. He turns it up, oh man it’s beautiful.”
‘Tank has fought as high as 140 before, defeating now 147 champion Mario Barrios. Garcia struggled to even make that last time out, weighing in for his super-lightweight fight against Devin Haney three pounds over at 143.
Whilst Garcia serves a doping suspension until April 2025, Davis is expected to return in November.
