Is there anyone who can defeat Gervonta Davis?
Even highly skilled fighters such as Ryan Garcia, who faced Davis on Saturday night before a crowd of 20,842 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, couldn't come close to winning.
In the seventh round, Garcia was forced to quit on one knee after taking a devastating left to the body from Davis, who now has 29 fights under his belt with 27 knockouts.
Despite Garcia's impressive record of 23-1 with 19 KOs, Davis expertly neutralized most of his attempts to gain the upper hand. It begs the question: is there anyone who can match or surpass Davis in the ring?
In Round 2, the 24-year-old Californian fighter, Garcia, tried to gain the upper hand by aggressively attacking Davis on multiple occasions. However, Davis effectively thwarted his attempts by tying him up each time. Soon after, a quick left from Davis sent Garcia to the canvas.
Garcia managed to connect a few decent right hands in Round 6, which could have given him some momentum. But in the subsequent round, Davis landed a vicious left to Garcia's body, ultimately ending the fight.
Despite Garcia's reputation for having a powerful left hook, it appeared to be a non-factor in the bout.
While Gervonta Davis didn't necessarily pummel Ryan Garcia during their fight, he unquestionably emerged as the clear victor. Davis expertly outmaneuvered Garcia beginning in the second round, consistently earning the judges' approval each round, and scoring two knockdowns before delivering a remarkable highlight reel knockout. Impressively, Davis sustained minimal damage throughout the fight.
Although the final scores were relatively close (59-55, 58-56, and 58-56), they do not accurately reflect the true nature of the bout. Davis controlled the fight, demonstrating his exceptional boxing skills and further cementing his position as one of the world's top boxers.
“You really don’t know until you actually get in with an opponent,” Davis said in the ring afterward. “Once I got in there with him, I felt, skill wise, it was [not a good match].”
The knockout was painful to watch.
The face of boxing @Gervontaa stops Garcia in round 7 with a VICIOUS body shot 😱 #DavisGarcia pic.twitter.com/8MRrWvBOOQ
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) April 23, 2023
During the fight, Davis and Garcia found themselves in a clinch when Davis unexpectedly crouched down and unleashed a straight left hand, striking Garcia on the right side of his body. Initially, Garcia appeared unfazed, taking a step back and turning slightly. However, he then visibly winced and dropped to one knee, writhing in pain. Referee Thomas Taylor counted to 10, but Garcia remained down and out of commission.
The impact of the punch seemed to have gutted Garcia emotionally as well as physically, leaving him with a feeling of disappointment and defeat.
“He just caught me with a good shot,” Garcia said. “I don’t want to make excuses. He caught me with a good shot and I just couldn’t recover. That’s it, all I want to say.”
Davis said that he wasn’t sure whether he had landed the decisive blow.
“I thought he was going to get up,” Davis said and then described eye contact between the rivals. “I like to play mind games. When he looked at me, I looked at him like I was saying, ‘Get up.’ He shook his head, saying, ‘no.’”
After his convincing victory over Ryan Garcia, Gervonta Davis is now expected to pursue a fight against one of the top 135-pounders, such as Devin Haney, Vasiliy Lomachenko, or Shakur Stevenson. While it remains unclear how the matchmaking will play out, Davis is considered too talented and popular to be avoided.
Organizers of the event have stated that the winner of the fight between Davis and Garcia would become the face of boxing due to their impressive abilities and social media following. While this may be an overstatement with Canelo Alvarez still active, Davis' popularity continues to grow, with his ability to draw large crowds.
When asked whether he is now the face of the sport, Davis confidently responded without hesitation.
“I’m definitely the face of boxing,” he said. “Abso-f—ing-lutely.”