Sean Crose
“April 22, 2023 Las Vegas Begins! #DavisGarcia DOOOO.”
And with that single tweet, Gervonta “Tank” Davis let the world know that his battle with Ryan Garcia is now officially on.
“SHOWTIME PPV and DAZN PPV April 22,” Ryan Garcia tweeted a little later. “LAS VEGAS NV”
Make no mistake about it: Davis-Garcia is a full-fledged tennis player, dyed in the wool superfight. Featuring two young, tough, undefeated and very popular boxers in their prime, it’s just what the sport of boxing has been in dire need of lately. Davis-Garcia would be at least on the scale of the Wilder-Fury battle, but possibly much larger. While it won’t be as lucrative as Mayweather-Pacquiao or Mayweather-McGregor, Davis-Garcia could be the biggest fight in boxing since those two busted a few years ago.
While it was clear that both men wanted to fight, there was beginning to be some concern that difficult negotiations would prevent it from becoming a reality. Oscar De La Hoya, Garcia’s promoter, has assured the public that it is only a matter of time before things become official – and as of Friday he has been proven right. Credit to both De La Hoya and PBC honcho Al Haymon for putting this together. In an age of entangled advertising and broadcasting, the act of getting negotiations over the finish line is clearly no small feat.
As Garcia tweeted, the match will be broadcast using both Showtime pay-per-view and DAZN pay-per-view, as Showtime airs Davis matches and DAZN broadcasts Garcia’s match. The exact venue for the bout hasn’t been announced, but a catch of 136 pounds has been agreed upon by the boxers’ respective camps. The fight was originally scheduled to take place on April 15, which suggests a lengthy negotiation process has pushed the event back by a week.
Davis 28-0 ended all but two of his fights in the distance while Garcia 23-0 ended all but four of his fights in the long range. When fighters with this kind of power meet, fireworks can certainly be expected. With that said, it’s clear Davis will be prioritized to win the match, as he has won several world titles in several weight classes and has faced opponents stronger than Garcia. However, the kind of power Garcia possesses can make things worse – as long as Davis doesn’t approach him first.
