By: Sean Crose
It looks like negotiations for the much-anticipated Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia superfight have hit a roadblock. An official announcement for the war should have been made at any time, but now negotiations have hit a snag. “We’re really at the 1-yard line; what makes it stand is the rematch clause,” Garcia promoter and Golden Boy Promotion honoree Oscar De La Hoya told ESPN’s Mike Coppinger. “It’s only fair that if Ryan wins, then our side controls everything as faction A. This is just the way it’s always been… it’s common sense that whoever wins is side A. That’s the bottom line. We are not reinventing the wheel here.”
According to De La Hoya, Team Davis, of which the PBC honors Al Haymon as a big – if not the biggest – part, wants to call the shots if Garcia should beat Davis. That means a rematch will be broadcast by Showtime, a channel favored by Davis and Haymon, rather than DAZN, favored by Garcia and De La Hoya. When things settle, the first Davis-Garcia battle (if it ever comes to fruition) will be broadcast by Showtime pay-per-view.
“Al Haymon is ordering everything,” De La Hoya declared. “They asked for this, asked for that…who came first, the penalties if Ryan was overweight. We made concessions, we negotiated and everything went very smoothly. If Ryan loses, there will be no rematch.” De La Hoya then stressed that so far, negotiations are going pretty well. “It was an interesting negotiation, it really has. I really hope their team doesn’t track the ball and we don’t have a Super Bowl,” De La Hoya said. “We at Golden Boy are just protecting our TV partners. To be fair, everything changes if Ryan wins.”
Both Davis and Garcia are young, undefeated, tough, and extremely popular. The public has repeatedly been assured that the negotiations are going so well that there is no doubt that the Davis-Garcia battle will take place on April 15. Hopefully last-minute details. regarding rematch provisions will be resolved promptly. Fans have missed enough of the big fights as they are right now. If this war fails then it will be a farce. With that said, it seems that both Davis and Garcia want the fight to happen – which may be what ultimately pushed the negotiations over the edge.
