Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia: Star Power

Tonight in Las Vegas, boxing’s most explosive rivalry hits the ring. Live from T-Mobile Arena, five-time, three-division world champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) battles hard-hitting sensation “King” Ryan Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs) in a 12-round, 136-pound clash atop a SHOWTIME Pay-Per-View (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT), presented by Premier Boxing Champions.

The telecast will feature Cuban star and WBA Super Middleweight Champion David Morrell Jr. taking on Brazilian Olympic Bronze Medalist Yamaguchi Falcao in the co-main event. Also on the card, super middleweight battlers Gabriel Rosado and Bektemir Melikuziev meet in a highly anticipated 10-round rematch of their 2021 war. In the PPV opener, heavy-handed 19-year-old middleweight Elijah Garcia faces tough Mexican Kevin Salgado in a 10-round contest.

The Story 

Davis-Garcia could very well be the biggest fight in boxing for a number of reasons.

Both 20-something mega-talents have built massive followings through not only their ring efforts, but through their ability to reach fans and draw social media attention to their exploits. 

The 28-year-old Davis just broke the all-time live gate record at Washington DC’s Capital One Arena in January, drawing nearly 20,000 fans for his stoppage of world titlist Hector Luis Garcia. That huge showing follows a pattern in the power-puncher’s career as he’s delivered sold out success in multiple venues all over the country. This will be the Baltimore native’s sixth pay-per-view headliner.

In the ring, “Tank” has been beyond dominant, scoring eleven stoppage victories in his last twelve bouts against high-end opposition such as Jose Pedraza, Jesus Cuellar, Leo Santa Cruz, Mario Barrios, Rolando Romero, and Hector Luis Garcia.

Ryan Garcia, meanwhile, has built his following the new school way, amassing a total of nearly 18 million followers/subscribers via Instagram/TikTok/YouTube/Facebook/Twitter. His social media success has turned the 24-year-old into, arguably, the first new media boxing superstar and a true crossover figure in the sport.

A winner of six of his last seven bouts inside the distance, his growing resume features names such as Romero Duno, Luke Campbell, and Emmanuel Tagoe. In his most recent bout, he utterly dominated Javier Fortuna, dropping the former world titlist three times en route to a sixth round knockout. 

Working his third bout under the guidance of trainer Joe Goossen, Garcia looks to be sharper than ever coming into the biggest fight of his life.

The Stakes

It’s been a marketing point in the lead-up to this blockbuster, but the winner of Davis-Garcia really could be the new face of boxing in a sport hungry for a young superstar. 

The Matchup

Davis is one of the most gifted offensive fighters in the sport, blessed with elite-level speed, reflexes, balance, and the ability to generate explosive, fight-stopping power with both hands.

The talented southpaw is also a smart, intuitive boxer who employs angles and complex ring strategies to set up kill-shot opportunities. 

On defense, Davis uses his speed and reflexes, as well as his smaller stature to elude the incoming and roll underneath punches. His prodigious power also helps to keep opposition respectful and tentative, unwilling to go “all in” with an offensive attack.

“ Make sure you come early and get your popcorn or whatever you want to get, because this is gonna be an early night. ”
Undefeated Three-Division World Champion – Gervonta “Tank” Davis

Garcia, like Davis, is also supremely gifted. Blessed with hand speed that is almost superhuman, the 15-time national junior champion can land a kill shot at any moment and from almost any position. His left hook, considered one of the best single-shot weapons in the game, is especially deadly.

The Victorville, California native also possesses a sharp jab that is sometimes underutilized and a potent straight right hand. Despite sometimes fighting stiff and flat-footed, his hand speed makes him a formidable offensive fighter who makes opposition tentative with his explosive quickness.

Defensively, Garcia continues to make some very fundamental mistakes. He keeps his chin high in exchanges, he pulls straight back, and his footwork doesn’t allow for great fluidity in moving out of harm’s way. Up until now, however, his offensive assets have mostly kept his defensive flaws a moot point.

The Words

Gervonta Davis

“Make sure you come early and get your popcorn or whatever you want to get, because this is gonna be an early night for sure. Ryan is gonna have to show me that he has more than just a left hook. I just don’t feel that he’s a complete fighter and come April 22 I’m gonna show him.”

Ryan Garcia

“This fight means a lot to me. It means everything. It’s the only thing I’ve wanted for so long, to defeat Gervonta Davis and to destroy him, to end everything that he’s ever worked for, because I know he’s trying to do that for me. I’m going to take him out. He’s done. It’s nap time for Gervonta.”

The Breakdown

Gervonta Davis will come into this bout with the more well-rounded skill set and the edge in high-end ring experience. However, the reality is that Ryan Garcia could be doing everything wrong in this bout, losing every round, and still emerge victorious with a lightning bolt shot out of the blue.

That fact will make it essential for Davis, who sometimes gives away early rounds while sizing up opposition, to be sharp, alert, and straight to the matter at hand. He’ll need to get inside on the taller, rangier Garcia to not only minimize Garcia’s power, but to create safer scoring opportunities for himself.

For Garcia, the jab will be key. Davis is not as effective moving back and it would be in his best interest to keep Davis at arm’s length, reacting rather than acting. Garcia displayed an increased focus on the jab in his bout with Javier Fortuna, something which shows he’s at least working on utilizing that asset.

Garcia, though, has a tendency to overcommit to his shots and leave himself vulnerable to counters, a potentially deadly error against a skilled, lights-out counter-puncher like Davis. He’ll need to fight with a focus and a maturity beyond what he’s displayed to date. 

At the end of the day, all tactical talk aside, this Saturday’s contest may come down to something as simple as who can take the other’s punch best.

Whatever the case, Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia is going to be an exciting edge-of-your-seat war with a guaranteed explosive finish. 

For a closer look at Davis vs Garcia, check out our fight night page.