Guest
In a matchup between two of the brightest young stars in boxing today, it was expected that Gervonta “Tank“ Davis' advantage in power would be the difference. In the end, it surely was as Davis (29-0, 27 KOs), arguably the top knockout artist in the sport today, floored Ryan Garcia in Round 2 before finishing him off with a body shot in Round 7 to score a resounding one-punch knockout on Saturday inside a sold-out T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Garcia (23-1, 19 KOs) was game throughout and landed a series of single power shots to get Davis' attention, was unable to beat the count following a sneaky counter left hand to the body. The 24-year-old social media star went down to one knee after a delayed reaction as blood flowed from his nose but couldn't regroup as referee Thomas Taylor counted Garcia out just as he rose to his feet at 1:44 of Round 7. Davis, 28, who reunited with former promoter Floyd Mayweather before the fight, hugged his longtime mentor after the victory with a huge smile on his face. Despite the narrative surrounding this fight that the winner might become the new face of the sport, Davis spent most of the promotion reminding media members he already is, which was hard to debate following his performance. “I'm definitely the face of boxing,“ Davis said. “Everybody already knew that.“ Although Davis' power was the biggest story in this main event of a Showtime PPV, it was the advantages in technique, experience and ring IQ that ultimately helped him set up the finish. Even though Garcia outlanded him by a margin of 39-35, according to ShoStats, in this largely tense bout with low output, Davis landed a sizzling 48% of his power shots overall. “Everything was exciting,“ Davis said. “I was excited being apart of this event. I remember coming up during Floyd [Mayweather] fights at the MGM [Grand Garden Arena] and I knew it would be me one day. I'm going to keep my head down, stay humble and continue to get to work.“ Garcia came out hot and had success using quick right hands and mauling shots inside in Round 2 to get Davis' attention but a beautiful counter right hand knocked Garcia down hard after he missed a lead left hook. “It was just him not knowing his placement and I knew that I was the smarter guy,“ Davis said. “Coach [Calvin Ford] always keeps telling me in camp that he is going to come up with his head up so just shoot it over the top.“ Davis, who was leading on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage, spent the majority of the fight landing clean shots to the body in order to slow Garcia, 24, down. Ultimately, it was a focus on the body that finished Garcia off for good. “Tank is a great fighter and I take my hat off to him,“ Garcia said. “We talked a lot of shit but he knows it's all love at the end of the day and I take my hat off to him. He was the better man. “He just caught me with a good shot. I don't want to make any excuses. I just couldn't recover and that's it. That's all I want to say. I'm not saying nothing, I couldn't breathe. I just couldn't get up.“ Despite the heavy trash talk between them, much of which centered upon the 10-pound rehydration clause that Davis mandated in the negotiation, both fighters embraced after the finish, which aligned with Davis' pre-fight prediction of a seventh-round knockout. “It was just me trying to get in his head,“ Davis said of the prediction. “I really don't know until I actually get in there with my opponent. Once I did, I felt like skill wise that I was unmatched.“ Elsewhere on the card, David Morrell made a massive statement with his first-round knockout of Yamaguchi Falcao. Morrell, a secondary titleholder in the super middleweight division, has been electric in his nine pro fights with eight of them ending in knockout. Morrell, 25, was quick to find former champion David Benavidez and make the callout for a fight as the two await Canelo Alvarez's decision with all four recognized titles under his watch. “I'm so excited. This was a big moment and a big night for me, so a knockout in the first round is incredible,“ Morrell said after the fight. “But this is boxing. First round, second round, I'm not worried when the knockout comes but I got it in the first round. “I think this is the best moment of my career tonight. It was a big event and a big name. I want to fight the best in the division.“
