Gervonta Davis vs Ryan Garcia fight verdict and suggested bets
- Matty Briggs
- 18 April 2023
Gervonta Davis faces Ryan Garcia in one of the biggest showdowns of the year so far. But who will come out on top in a fight where the winner will reportedly take both purses?
Date, start time, venue
Saturday, April 22 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The main card is scheduled to start at 12am UK time, with the ring walks for the 12-round catchweight clash between Davis and Garcia set for around 5am on Sunday morning. Watch live on DAZN.
Suggested bets
Ryan Garcia to win on points (15/2)
Undercard
David Morrell Jr vs Yamaguchi Falcao (WBA super-middleweight title)
Bektemir Melikuziev vs Gabriel Rosado
Elijah Garcia vs Kevin Salgado Zambrano
Fiodor Czerkaszyn vs Elias Espadas
Vito Mielnicki Jr vs Jose Sanchez Charles
Floyd Schofield vs Jesus Valentin Leon
Lorenzo Simpson vs Pachino Hill
Tristan Kalkreuth vs Jaime Solorio
Jalil Major Hackett vs Jason Phillips
Cuttino Oliver vs Roberto Cantu Pena
Davis vs Ryan Garcia fight preview
The fight of the year so far will take place in the early hours of Sunday as the ever-popular Ryan Garcia takes on fellow American Gervonta Davis.
Both in the prime of their careers, these fights do not come around too often and somebody's unbeaten record will likely go. It's a fight which is likely to be decided in the later rounds or even on points.
The bookies have it going to 28-year-old Davis (28-0) and he has been chalked up at a short-looking 2/5, while the younger man Garcia is a 9/4 shot.
The Vegas showdown will be an intriguing contest between two of the brightest talents on the planet. Neither has given an inch in the build up, so much so that the winner of the fight will take 'the whole purse.'
Sifting through the evidence it's difficult to determine who that will be, with Davis's raw power his biggest weapon. While Garcia's fast hands, hard hitting and natural size mean he is more than capable of putting the smaller man on the canvas.
Rehydration clause
What could prove crucial in this match-up is the 10lb rehydration clause which has been imposed on Garcia by Davis. The pair will meet at 136lb catchweight, four pounds lighter than Garcia weighed for this last win over Javier Fortuna.
But at 24 years of age, Garcia, who has a slim build, should not be too troubled by coming down in weight. But he will have to be careful about his fluid intake after the Friday weigh-in.
Davis has made sure that Garcia cannot rehydrate and weigh more than 146lbs at the secon weigh-in.
"Tank definitely didn't want this fight at 140, which is a weight that I'm comfortable at. So he's choosing to make me cut even more weight to 136 in hopes that it weakens me," said Garcia to the Warrior Mode.
Garcia's camp believe that Davis, who has a distinctive reach and height disadvantage, is fearful of Garcia. Indeed Davis fought for a world championship at 140 against Mario Barrios in June 2021, so why wouldn't he take on Garcia at the same weight?
Davis' team obviously believe that those few pounds could tip the balance in favour of their man, who previously stopped the unbeaten 130-pound world champion Hector Luis Garcia in the ninth round last time out.
Davis vs Garcia verdict
Davis has 26 KO's from his 28 wins and carries obvious power. He dispatched rival Rolando Romero with a left hand in May 2022. He is also the only fighter to stop former three-division champion Leo Santa Cruz and Barrios.
But he might just have to weather an early storm from Garcia, who likes to start quickly. That said the latter was put down by Britain's Luke Campbell in the second round of their 2021 Interim WBC Lightweight clash which Garcia eventually won.
Garcia has six knockouts in his last seven fights and he climbed off the canvas to stop Campbell with a brutal body shot in the seventh round in Dallas.
Campbell became the first man to floor Garcia and Davis will believe he can get to the 24-year-old as the fight goes on.
Most recently, Garcia stopped former champion Javier Fortuna in July 2022 in round six after previously dropping him in rounds four and five.
And with his natural size playing a part as the fight goes on, it might just be Garcia that can win late on, or more likely get the vote on the cards.
