The fight for the new face of boxing
By Ed Emeanua
Show headliners Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia have bragged and trash talked, now the pugilists must deliver as promised as they finally meet inside the ring on Saturday. Pundits feel that the Showtime PPV event which begins 8 p.m. (ET) would ultimately unveil the next face of boxing .
It is undisputable that the pair are among the array of rising stars of the sport and are expected to be accompanied to the contest by their massive followership, further giving credence to the massiveness nature of their encounter.
Expect sparks to blaze into a massive Nevada inferno in this Pay-Per-View event of April 22 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The two men would not just fight for pride, but must also stake their impressive unbeaten ring records in each of the 12 rounds of catchweight bust-up this weekend.
‘The Tank’ stakes his 28-0, (26 KOs) record against ‘The Flash’ (23-0, (19 KOs), in a square off in which only a resulting tie could continue their legacy of equality and a loss would ultimately separate the shaft from the grain. Such is the high stake-the opportunity of a world title shot-that the mere contemplation of this bout has fueled so much bad blood, hate and threats of violence between the fighters.
The possibilities in this matchup are endless as it contains several caveats and a lot of side kicks. Fight fans and boxing analyst who have often pondered about how Garcia’s chin would holdout when a Davis’ powerful fist collides with it, now have the rare chance to find that out.
Equally, those of us who salivate over the consideration of Davis’ wherewithal to be able to contend with the frustration that Garcia’s almost five-inch height and reach advantage could pose in thier clash, should drool no more. In all fairness, past fights involving the pair may have actually pitted them against victims who were never at par with their individual levels.
However, Saturday’s clash that now pits them against each other, presents a new level of opposition with dangerous capabilities and formidability to each fighter. Though they are billed to face each other, in reality, each fighter are only going up against an opposition that is at level that either are yet to face before now. Against each other, it is certain that each would push the other to breaking point.
Gervonta Davis vs. Hector Luis Garcia results: ‘Tank’ wins via TKO and meets Ryan Garcia next
What would have to give when The Tank’s power and experience collide with Garcia’s size and speed advantage? We know so much about Garcia’s out-of-this-world talent, how much do we know about his tenacity, durability and stellar qualities against a more determined and ferocious puncher? Is his talent enough to withstand Davis’ experience and awesome punching power at this level?
How does Davis’ (5 ft. 5+1⁄2 in (166 cm)) experience sizeup to the level of massive danger that Garcia’s (5 ft. 10 in (177.8 cm)) remarkable ring craft poses to his blooming career? Will Davis’ awesome punching power be just enough to extinguish the speed and size of the Garcia in this lightweight contest?
Though listed as a professional boxing catchweight contest, the higher notion is that in truth, this fight involves the current WBA lightweight champion in Davis and former WBC interim lightweight champion in Ryan Garcia, which actually makes the stakes more enormous.
While it is notable that ‘King Ry’ Garcia last fought in the summer of last year when he dusted Javier Fortuna, Davis is returning after his TKO victory against Hector Garcia this January. Does the almost six months stay on the fighters’ layaway that exist between them corelate to some type of advantage to either of the fighters?
The level of importance of this bout is so significant to prize-fighting that it notably took PBC and Golden Boy Promotions to combine to stage the it, and TV network Showtime and streaming app DAZN to conjoin to be able to broadcast it.
Moreso, when fate and man-made calculus have amalgamated to ensure that the fight must also take place in the world’s fight capital-Las Vegas-speaks volume about the historic connotation in the showdown. Davis vs Garcia will go live on both Showtime PPV and DAZN PPV in the US. The card’s ring-walks for the main event is anticipated to commence 11.30pm ET/8.30pm PST. The television segment of the promotion expected to begin from 8pm ET/5pm PST.
The Cards
- Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia, 12 rounds, 136-pound catchweight
- Title fight: David Morrell vs. Yamaguchi Falcao, 12 rounds, for Morrell’s WBA “regular” super middleweight title
- Bektemir Melikuziev vs. Gabriel Rosado, 10 rounds, super middleweights
- Elijah Garcia vs. Kevin Salgado Zambrano, 10 rounds, middleweights
- Fiodor Czerkaszyn vs. Elias Espadas, 10 rounds, middleweights
- Vito Mielnicki Jr. vs. Jose Sanchez Charles, 10 rounds, junior middleweights
- Floyd Schofield vs. Jesus Valentin Leon, 10 rounds, lightweights
- Lorenzo Simpson vs. Pachino Hill, 6 rounds, middleweights
- Tristan Kalkreuth vs. Jaime Solorio, 4 rounds, light heavyweights
- Jalil Major Hackett vs. Jason Phillips, 4 rounds, junior middleweights
