You can debate if Ryan Garcia quit or not but this much was clear, if it wasn't going to be in the seventh round, it would've been just a round or three later that Gervonta 'Tank' Davis was going to run over the matinee idol at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Can you really blame 'KingRy' for not wanting to be fully beheaded?
He took the lesser of two beatings.
Esther Line, Showtime Sports
Through seven rounds, not only had he hit the deck twice, but he was losing the majority of rounds (Davis was up on all three scorecards after seven), and it looked as though the powerful southpaw from Baltimore was steadily closing in. It was only a matter of time.
FIGHT HIGHLIGHTS | Gervonta 'Tank' Davis vs. Ryan Garcia
“Me predicting the seventh round KO was me just trying to get in his head. I really don’t know until I actually get in there with my opponent, but once I got in there with him I felt like skill-wise, it all matched."
Garcia started quickly, winning the first behind his quick jab and fast hands. He seemed as though he had the upper hand in the second, playing the role of aggressor, till he got reckless in his attack and was struck by a well-placed counter left hand that sent him down. To his credit, Garcia arose and boxed on, but from that point on it felt as though Garcia had run out of ideas.
Esther Line, Showtime Sports
For all the talk of Davis' prodigious power -- having scored 27 stoppages in 29 bouts -- he was the more technically sound boxer of the two, and was winning the tactical battle. He never fell into Garcia's vaunted check hook as he boxed patiently off his back foot, and picked his spots. There seemed to be a clear understanding from his brain trust that Garcia was most dangerous and explosive early on.
As the fight settled in, while there wasn't all that much sustained action Yet it was Davis who was in command, and more sure of his movements. Garcia, was often jittery and not able to control his speed, rendering most of his punches inaccurate. 'KingRy' is a flashy, fast fighter, but one that is fundamentally flawed.
The stuff that goes viral on TikTok and/or Instagram, isn't bound to work consistently in a real fight against world-class opposition. Davis wasn't just the stronger, more powerful of the two boxers, he was also the superior technician with the higher boxing IQ. This went far beyond just punching prowess -- although that certainly mattered.
Esther Line, Showtime Sports
Who knows if the catch-weight (136 pounds) and the re-hydration clause put in for this fight truly had an impact on Garcia's ability to take that shot to the liver. Logic says it probably didn't help any. There is the possibility that Garcia was simply spent, and realized that even if he did beat the count, he wouldn't be able to hold off Davis much longer.
“I didn’t think that body shot would end it, but I saw his facial expression and that’s what made me take it to him. It was a good shot, for sure," recalled Davis. "I thought he was going to get up but I like to play mind games, so when he was looking at me, I was looking at him trying to tell him, ‘Get up!’. And he just shook his head, no."
It's clear, Davis won the negotiations, and then the fight in emphatic fashion.
Esther Lin, Showtime Sports
Unlike, Garcia who is perhaps the ultimate baby-face who attracts corporate sponsors and lucrative endorsements, Davis, who notched his third victory in 11 months, is something else, much more important within the context of the sport.
“I’m definitely the face of boxing. Absolutely!" he claimed.
CORDINA
While Davis-Garcia looks like it was a huge commercial success, it wasn't all that much of a fight, overall. The most memorable battle this past weekend took place at the Cardiff International Arena in Wales, where Shavkat Rahkimov defended his IBF 130-pound belt against Joe Cordina, who previously held this title.
Mark Robinson, Matchroom Sports
For 12 rounds it was a pitched battle, that saw both men fight with incredible passion and intensity. The hometown Cordina scored an early knockdown in the second, which would prove to be very pivotal on the scorecards. Later on Rahkimov would buzz Cordina a few times.
FIGHT HIGHLIGHTS | Shavkatdzh Rakhimov vs. Joe Cordina
But every time Rahkimov would seize the momentum, Cordina would rally back. This fight has several ebbs-and-flows, where both boxers had the upper hand at various points. Out of the two, it was the challenger who landed the heavier blows. This was truly a back-and-forth affair and in my view, the best pure fight I've seen thus far in 2023.
After 12 rounds, it was Cordina winning via split decision by the scores of 115-112, 111-116 and 114-113. So yeah, that knockdown absolutely mattered.
FINAL FLURRIES
Heard a lot of complaints from those who attempted to get the Davis-Garcia pay-per-view through DAZN...David Morrell truly is the boogeyman at 168....Gabe Rosado has called it a career after losing the rematch to Bektemir Melikuziev on Saturday night. Here's hoping Rosado finds contentment in the next chapters of his life...Any chance Zhilei Zhang faces Tyson Fury? Or is Andy Ruiz in line to face 'the Gypsy King'?....Alright, looks like we finally got our weather back in Southern California...I can be reached at k9kim@yahoo.com....
