There was no surprise, as some fans assumed there might have been. In 152 seconds (18’44”), a little more than half of the fight has passed, when a devastating hook to the liver by Gervonta Davis, disrupted Ryan Garcia, “King Ry” with delayed effect, an impact that ended the non-title fight between two undefeated fighters, considered among the best in the world in the current era of the sport of punches.
What happened last Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas is history. Expectant fans at the arena, not at its full capacity of 20,000 people, came to witness the bout, advertised as one of the most striking fights for 2023.
In fact, it did not come to that much, because the regular lightweight champion of the World Boxing Association, dean of the organizations that govern the ecumenical boxing, solved it faster than most expected, with a sensational and resounding demonstration of quality and superiority, which shows that “Tank” is among at least ten top exponents of the universe of the ring in the current times. The result made valid the majority predictions that anointed him as the favorite in the non-title confrontation agreed to 12 rounds, between the two unbeaten protagonists such as Davis, a 28-year-old southpaw, native of a suburb of Baltimore, with 28 wins and 26 knockouts in 10 years as a professional and Garcia (24 years old, from Los Alamitos, California), winner in his previous 23 fights, 19 won by KO in five professional years, who gave the impression in the first moments that he was capable of overthrowing the odds against him.
Indeed, Garcia dominated the first 3 minutes of action with long punches to the body and head of “Tank”. However, in the second, alarm bells went off in his corner when Davis, about 12 centimeters shorter, leaned a little against Garcia’s advance and threw a left hook to the face that sent him to the canvas.
The scuffle, which was already giving response to the expectations created, became more animated in the following rounds, with an alternating dominance even though with an advantage not at all wide for Floyd Maywheater’s former pupil, Gervonta, who looked self confident, calm, sure to take control for the remaining of the bout. As indeed he did midway through the seventh round. Garcia sought to corner his opponent, but the latter fired a rocket of a left hook that hit his opponent in the liver, who took a few hesitant steps backward, visibly dazed, leaned a little, put his knee on the canvas, helpless and looking out of sight. The referee Thomas Taylor hurriedly approached the broth, started the count and noticing that Garcia did not react, mercifully ended the actions at one minute and 44 seconds of the episode.
The judges Tim Cheatham, David Moretti and Steve Weisfeld scored scored the bout, 58-56, 59-56 and 59-55, all for UD. With this victory, Gervonta Davis reaffirmed himself as the best lightweight of the moment and also as one of the most brilliant stars of boxing, with the sky as the only limit and with the weapons required to perform even more relevant feats than the one achieved last Saturday in the majestic stage of Las Vegas.
