Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia is a go.
That’s the word from Showtime Sports executive Stephen Espinoza, who tweeted Friday that the long-anticipated pay-per-view showdown is “official” for April 22 in Las Vegas. Davis also said on Twitter, “It’s on!”
No venue was mentioned. The possibilities are T-Mobile Arena, MGM Grand Garden Arena and Allegiant Stadium, home of the NFL’s Raiders.
The fight is one of the biggest possible matchups in boxing in terms of the popularity of the fighters, who are elite boxers and have massive social media followings. Thus, the lead-up to the fight should be entertaining. And the matchup of knockout artists is about as compelling as it gets.
Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) is a former two-division world titleholder and No. 10 on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list. He’s coming off a ninth-round knockout of previously unbeaten Hector Luis Garcia in January, a fight seen as a tune-up for Garcia.
LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 16: Ryan Garcia (white trunks) faces Javier Fortuna at the Crypto.com Arena on July 16, 2022 in Los Angeles, United States. (John McCoy, Getty Images)
“Tank” pleaded guilty to hit-and-run charges in January but won’t be sentenced until May, which means his legal woes shouldn’t interfere with the fight.
Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs) chose not to take a stay-busy fight. He last fought in June of last year, when he stopped Javier Fortuna in six rounds.
Davis and Garcia agreed to a catchweight of 136 pounds, one over the lightweight limit.
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