LAS VEGAS — Just one hook. That’s all it took.
Gervonta Davis may be the “Tank.” But he didn’t need to steamroll his way to victory Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena. He was more like a high-tech fighter jet, swooping down on his prey, using his speed and precision punching to stay undefeated as he knocked out Ryan Garcia in the seventh round of their scheduled 12-round lightweight bout.
“The reality definitely matches the dream,” Davis, 28, said. “But the job is never done until I retire so I’m going to keep my head down, stay humble and continue to work.”
Davis (29-0, 27 knockouts), had knocked Garcia down in the second round, moments after Garcia appeared to be on his way to winning the round. The 23-year-old from Los Angeles survived the big left hook that had dropped him. And for a moment, it looked like he was going to make this a fight and perhaps catch and pass Davis as he tried to rally toward the middle of the fight.
But Davis had other ideas.
He bided his time, waiting for an opening. And when Garcia tried to land a right hand midway through the seventh, Davis cracked him with a hard left to the body. Garcia tried to shake it off but moments later, he crumbled in the corner and was unable to beat the count from referee Thomas Taylor at 1:44 as the sellout crowd of 20,842 was stunned by what had just transpired.
“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,” Davis said. “It was a good shot, for sure.
“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.”
Garcia, who was gracious in defeat, dropping to 23-1, said: “He caught me with a great shot. I just couldn’t recover.
“I think I gave him too much respect in the ring. You’ve got to play it smart with Gervonta and I didn’t play it smart.”
Garcia said he plans to go to 140 pounds and pick up his career at that weight division.
Years ago, I remember being in Floyd Mayweather’s gym on Spring Mountain Road as he was preparing for one of the fights late in his career. As he was talking, he pointed to a young boxer who was working with his father, Floyd Sr.
“See that kid?” Mayweather said. “He’s going to be a world champion one day. Mark it down.”
That kid was Davis. And he did fulfill Mayweather’s prophecy, winning world titles at super featherweight and lightweight. The two had a falling out a while back but appeared to have reconciled as Mayweather was in the ring before and after Davis’ victory Saturday.
There was no title to celebrate after disposing of Garcia, but Davis now waits, knowing an even bigger opportunity may be on the horizon.
On May 20, Devin Haney, the undisputed lightweight champion, puts his titles on the line against former world champ Vasiliy Lomachenko at the MGM Grand Garden, the site of many of Mayweather’s big victories in his undefeated career. Should Haney prevail, it would set up a potential blockbuster fight with Davis in the fall. I don’t know if Davis is back enough to wrap all the belts around his 5-foot-5 frame, but he certainly will be a worthy opponent for Haney should it come to pass.
Of course, boxing being boxing, the politics of the promoters may prevent it from happening. Haney is currently promoted by Top Rank, whose chairman Bob Arum has no love for Al Haymon, whose Premier Boxing Champions promotes Davis. But if Haney, who is also 29-0 and has 15 KOs, moves on from Top Rank or if Arum and Haymon can put their differences aside and give the fans this fight, it’ll be worth the wait.
But Saturday was Davis’ time to bask in the warm glow of victory. He fought smart, did the things champions need to do to win and when it came time to close the deal, he did so, as a minus-200 betting favorite should. He wasn’t calling out Haney or anyone for that matter.
“Everything about this was exciting,” Davis said. “I was excited to be a part of this event.
“I remember coming up in the Golden Gloves and seeing Floyd fight at the MGM. It was crazy. I actually just saw Rihanna perform at the Super Bowl, and I thought that’s going to be me one day. And we’re here.
“I’m definitely the face of boxing. Absolutely!”
My guess is Devin Haney might have something to say about that. Same for Terence Crawford, Canelo Alvarez, Shakur Stevenson and Tyson Fury. But if Davis wants to flaunt his success, who are we to tell him not to? At least for one night.
