It has been more than a year, but there are very few days when boxing fans don’t recall and debate Ryan Garcia‘s fight with Gervonta Davis. More than the fight, the contractual stipulations seized the headlines, and continue to do so till this day. While ‘KingRy’ had a delayed reaction to a body punch and took a knee, many fans saw it coming. Why did it happen? Oscar De La Hoya reveals it all.

De La Hoya, 51, discussed the Davis vs. Garcia fight when he sat down with Shannon Sharpe at Club Shay Shay. He laid it bare that the writing was on the wall for his star boxer. After all, the rehydration clause had left him toothless in the fight. When asked how the rehydration clause found its way into the contract, the American promoter disclosed that it was not his doing.

De La Hoya admitted Garcia, 26, had his lawyers and adviser negotiate the contract. He said, “I believe he fought at 135. So let me tell you all the roadblocks and stipulations on the contracts, ’cause I didn’t negotiate that fight. Ryan’s lawyer and advisers negotiated that rehydration clause and the purse split. I was just, like, ‘Let me stand back. Let me watch them make mistakes’.”

In addition, the Golden Boy Promotions lynchpin admitted that he once found himself in a similar predicament when he fought Manny Pacquiao in 2008. So, he knew Garcia, at 24-1 now, faced an impossible task. De La Hoya continued, “I felt so bad for Ryan because he was sucked up. He was a dead man. He reminded me of me when I fought Pacquiao. There’s no chance he’s gonna win against ‘Tank’, who’s a beast. There is no chance.”

There have been rumors of a rematch since their fight, and a few still theorize what would have been if there was no rehydration clause, which didn’t allow Garcia to rehydrate above a certain limit.

What if Ryan Garcia and Gervonta Davis fought now?

De La Hoya, in the same conversation, couldn’t make a calculated guess when posed the same question. All he had to say was, “I don’t know. I don’t know.” The LA native then heaped praise on Davis, at 29, and called him “skillfully” and a “beast.” He also believed ‘Tank’ was on the path to becoming great.

Because he fights,” De La Hoya added. With Garcia moving to 140 and now spending a year on the sidelines, and Davis still racking up wins at 135, it’s hard to fix a rematch between the two now.

While Gervonta Davis is soaring the skies after a bombastic, back flipping, jaw breaking performance against Frank Martin last weekend, Devin Haney is in the trenches recovering from his loss against Ryan Garcia in April. Safe to say, ‘The Dream’ isn’t dreaming about crossing paths with Davis, since ‘Tank’ defeated Garcia. But that didn’t stop sports TV personality Stephen A. Smith from ousting Haney from the Davis rat race!

So, who does Smith think is the front runner for ‘Tank’ Davis after his win off late? Brace for impact! It’s the one and only Shakur Stevenson! For the longest time, Stevenson has been at it, trying to convince ‘Tank’ to accept the challenge, but the Baltimore native refused it time and time again. Yet Smith feels Stevenson would be the right choice.

Stephen A. Smith brands Devin Haney a bad punch taker

Speaking in his Stephen A. Smith show, the TV anchor started by lauding Davis for his latest win—he went as far as to say, “I’m looking at it—Gervonta Davis is the number one box office attraction”. Having said that, Smith quickly turned his attention to Davis’ next putting, and Stevenson was right there on top of Smith’s list.

Who I want to see him against next is Shakur Stevenson”, Smith said! In the same breadth, the TV presenter turned his attention to Devin Haney, suggesting he was the last person Smith would want to see against Davis. Why? Well, Smith said, “Devin Haney has proven to me that he’s not a good punch taker. So, my thing is if you’re Gervonta Davis, you catch Devin Haney, oh my Lord, oh my God… you know!”

Elaborating further, Smith claimed Haney might have survived three knockdowns against Ryan Garcia earlier this year, but that ain’t happening if Haney entered the ring against Gervonta Davis, who puts boxers on the canvas with one shot. However, there’s one more man, who Gervonta Davis himself wants to fight!

Smith thinks Vasyl Lomachenko doesn’t have the power to beat Gervonta Davis

Bob Arum, Vasyl Lomachenko’s promoter, has revealed the talks for a fight between Davis and the Ukrainian is ongoing, as they eye a fight later this year. This comes after Davis expressed interest in facing ‘Loma’ on social media, following Lomachenko’s destructive win over Australia’s George Kambosos Jr. earlier this year. Even Lomachenko has agreed for the bout after he recovers from the Kambosos onslaught.

Regardless, Smith doesn’t believe ‘Loma’ has much of a chance against the Baltimore native! During the Stephen A. Smith show, he said, “Lomachenko is a brilliant, brilliant boxer, but he’s so small. I’m not comfortable seeing Lomachenko against Gervonta Davis because my attitude is nobody has a shot against Gervonta Davis if you can’t punch with power”. Smith acknowledged the Kambosos fight, but remained confident Davis would prove too much for ‘Loma’.

Having said that, Devin Haney has been officially separated from the herd of elites in the lightweight division. If he wants to get back up there, he needs to take another big fight and prove the Ryan Garcia loss was freaks of nature. But that seems unlikely.

Ryan Garcia might be the biggest flip-flopper in boxing right now! The Victorville native was ringside during Gervonta Davis, his former rival’s fight against Frank Martin at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Interestingly, he showed up at the venue wearing a shirt with “rematch me b**ch” written on it to mock Davis! However, he later changed his tune when Davis defeated Martin via an eighth-round knockout!

After the fight concluded and Davis was announced the winner, Garcia climbed the ring to congratulate the defending champion and even embraced the Baltimore native after showing his shirt, which also had “Tank’s #1 Fan” written on it. But here’s the kicker! After sharing this wholesome moment with Davis, Garcia hopped on X, just to contradict it with his tweet.

Ryan Garcia promises to do this to Gervonta Davis

‘King Ry’ and ‘Tank’ previously went toe-to-toe at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, a fight that saw Davis emerge victorious after a vicious body shot that sent Garcia to his knee in the seventh round. Regardless, sharing the clip of their wholesome interaction in the ring, Ryan Garcia wrote, “I will hurt this guy on my momma”, going as far as to disagree with a fan who pointed out he quit in their first match after a vicious body shot.

Regardless, this came as quite the shocker for the Baltimore native, who just moments prior shared a hug with his former rival. So, when a reporter brought up Garcia’s tweet during the post-fight press conference on the same night, Davis responded with a fiery statement! Davis said, “He is crazy, talking about a rematch. He said, ‘I was the best at 132 [lbs] to 145 [lbs]’. He said that. Saying he wants to fight me again – I will kick his a** again.”

To put it simply, given enough money, anything is possible! However, there are a few hurdles that may need to be addressed if the fight has to happen. First, the weight division—Ryan Garcia is currently at super lightweight, which means one of them has to either climb up or the other has to come down. Since Garcia didn’t fare well—the last time at a lower weight he might want to avoid doing that again.

Second, Garcia might not want to sign off on a rehydration clause like the last time, which left him drained. And Davis had defeated Garcia convincingly, so he might not want to make the fight, anyway. Not to mention, Garcia’s fate in boxing currently hangs in the balance, as he will have to make a case for himself in front of NYSAC because of the positive doping test results.

However, if the trial goes well for Garcia and the Devin Haney loss doesn’t get turned into a no-contest, a Davis-Garcia rematch would sell like no other fight has sold before because of the drama Garcia has managed to drum up around himself.

With that said, only time will tell whether a rematch becomes a reality. However, this interaction between Ryan Garcia and Gervonta Davis has proved the Victorville native will do anything to get his rematch.

Gervonta Davis is about to go head-to-head against Frank Martin at MGM Grand, Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, but Ryan Garcia seems to have crashed the party. Davis, of course, is expected to win the fight, and Garcia is betting on it, as his antics during the event suggest he wants to get his rematch.

The duo went toe-to-toe back in April last year, as Davis dropped Garcia twice before ending the fight in the seventh round. So, as Davis is facing Martin, the Victorville native showed up wearing a shirt with “Rematch me B**ch” written on it, as captured in video, shared on X by Happy Punch. And this, of course, was enough to get the fans riled up.

Turning to X, Happy Punch shared Garcia’s clip with the caption, reading, “Ryan Garcia at the Gervonta Davis fight in a ‘rematch me b**ch’ shirt.” While fans eagerly await news on whether Gervonta Davis will grant Garcia a rematch, there’s someone else in the crowd who might stir up some drama with Ryan Garcia.

See, the thing is, Caleb Plant and Ryan Garcia have been beefing over social media after Garcia tested positive for banned substances. ‘King Ry’ went as far as to say he would hurt Plant if he saw him, so controversy might not be far away! Nevertheless, Garcia’s presence in the event itself was enough for fans to go hog wild.

Fans speculate Ryan Garcia has to make money somehow

Of late, Ryan Garcia has garnered attention for his provocative behavior, making everything he does noteworthy. After viewing the clip, one user voiced frustration, implying that Garcia might be using PEDs and not approaching his fights with the seriousness they deserve.

Someone else anticipated that Garcia would inevitably stir up some drama post-fight.

Another user speculated that Ryan Garcia’s actions were motivated by a desire to earn money.

The next user expressed confidence that in a potential rematch, Gervonta Davis would prevail over Garcia.

One user pointed out that Garcia might face suspension by the NYSAC, questioning the rationale behind calling for a rematch.

Ryan Garcia appears eager to secure another lucrative payday with Gervonta Davis, but whether Davis will grant him that opportunity remains uncertain. However, in the rare case the rematch does take place, considering Ryan Garcia manages to wrestle out of his trial with the NYSAC, there might be another blockbuster in the making. Do you think Davis should rematch Garcia?

Gervonta Davis is one of the greatest boxers in the lightweight division, and some would even say the best. The Baltimore puncher is about to enter the ring against undefeated Frank Martin on June 15 at MGM Grand, Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. However, as the fight night creeps closer, Davis reflects on his fight against Ryan Garcia.

The duo squared off against each other at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, following a long drawn rivalry, producing one of the biggest money makers in 2023. Despite Garcia leading the scorecards in the early rounds, Davis expertly dropped Garcia in the second round by dodging his left hook and countering with a straight left. This was followed by a perfectly placed body shot in the seventh that forced Garcia to quit. So, in the wake of the Martin fight, Davis reveals his winning strategy while appearing in an interview with PBC.

Yesterday, Premier Boxing Champions shared a clip of the interview with Davis on X, with the caption reading, “[Gervonta Davis] has such a good ring IQ that he turns his opponents’ biggest weapons into his own winning strategy”. Meanwhile, in the clip, the interviewer probed the Baltimore native about his headlining fight against Garcia.

In response, the 29-year-old highlighted Garcia kept going back to his left hook, so Davis used it against Garcia. ‘Tank’ said, “He just kept on throwing the same punch. Kept on the same punch and he was right there for everything.” However, it’s worth mentioning that Davis had forced Garcia to adhere to a rehydration clause, which left the 25-year-old drained.

Not to mention, the fight happened at a catchweight of 136 pounds! While Garcia was used to fighting at a similar weight, the rehydration clause played a key role in giving Davis the advantage. In contrast, when Garcia took on Devin Haney at a much higher weight, Garcia seemed much more effective and powerful. Nevertheless, Ryan Garcia has accused Davis of playing with him before the fight.

Ryan Garcia highlights boxing mind games

While appearing in a podcast with Patrick Bet David on January 31 this year, the Victorville native reflected on the days leading up to the Gervonta Davis fight. He said, “They played with me”, alleging Davis kept moving the date for the fight. Initially, he wanted to do the fight in October, but then, it was moved to December.

Then, “They can’t do December cuz his birthday he likes to celebrate his birthday”, said Garcia. When a January fight was decided, Garcia claims Davis argued for a tune-up fight first. What’s more, Garcia even roped in Floyd Mayweather, claiming Mayweather pushed Davis to play psychological games. “Floyd was telling them all these things”, Garcia said. “The rehydration clauses… putting all these stipulations on me… You can’t do this, you can’t do that. The ring needs to be this size. It’s Davis-Garcia it’s not… all these things were all by Floyd”, Garcia added.

With a mere 12 days left in the fight against Frank Martin, Gervonta Davis looked back at the Ryan Garcia fight and how he won it. However, as far as Garcia is concerned, he could win against Davis, so a potential fight between them could be on the horizon.

Gervonta Davis says he is open to a ‘massive’ rematch against Ryan Garcia, but not at the weight ‘King Ryan’ has called for.

Davis and Garcia first fought just over a year ago, with ‘Tank’ scoring a seventh round stoppage with a sneaky body shot. Much has been made around the fact that Garcia drained himself to make the 136lb catchweight and was only able to put on an extra 10lbs for a second weigh-in on the day of the fight.

‘Tank’ has not been in the ring since that night. Garcia on the other hand had a career best win and performance, defeating Devin Haney by majority decision. The social media sensation’s joy was short lived however, returning two positive drug tests for banned substance Ostarine.

In a surprise to many, Davis has backed the 25 year-old and has offered his support online.

“Stay up kid. Continue to be you. We’ll see each other in the future. I don’t believe he’s a cheater.”

Even with the controversy surrounding the Haney win, a Tank-Garcia rematch is perhaps the biggest fight in the sport.

In an interview with ES News, the WBA lightweight champion is keen on running it back, but at only 140lbs, not the 143lbs Garcia suggested.

“Yeah [it’s a massive fight]. But not at 143, why 143? Probably at 140, that’s the next weight class up from 135, it’s the weight class he fights at.

Let’s do 140 and he can rehydrate back up to 150, or the most 152, I’m 135 brother.”

The 29-year-old returns to action on June 15 when he defends his WBA title against Frank Martin on a card also featuring David Benavidez making his light-heavyweight debut against Oleksandr Gvozdyk.

Ryan Garcia‘s positive tests for banned substance Ostarine for his fight against Devin Haney have now been confirmed by the B-samples and one time former-foe, Gervonta Davis, has reacted to the news.

Garcia produced one of the biggest upsets of the year when he knocked Haney down three times on his way to a majority decision victory.

The jubilation of that win was short lived when VADA announced that the 25-year-old had failed two drugs tests, one the day before and one the day after his fight against ‘The Dream’.

Garcia has continuously pleaded innocence and insisted the B-samples be tested. Those results have now confirmed the initial findings.

One man who has somewhat unexpectedly backed his former opponent before the B-sample results was Davis. ‘Tank’, when speaking to ES News, had previously sent supportive messages to Garcia:

“Stay up kid. Continue to be you. We’ll see each other in the future. I don’t believe he’s a cheater.”

Many expected Davis’ attitude to change after the confirmation that a performance enhancing drug was in Garcia’s system, but instead he took to twitter to double down on his support.

“He didn’t cheat..”

Davis’ backing didn’t go unnoticed by the man he stopped just over a year ago.

“Shoutout Gervonta Davis. Bro really my brother.”

Garcia’s legal team has since issued a statement claiming hair and nail samples were taken after the positive result and that these findings show he gained no advantage and that the likely cause was a contaminated supplement.

“Soon after being notified of his positive test, Ryan voluntarily had his hair collected and shipped to Dr. Pascal Kintz, the foremost expert in toxicology and hair-sample analysis. The results of Ryan’s hair sample came back negative. This is consistent with contamination and demonstrably proves that Ryan had not ingested Ostarine over a period of time the only way he would have had any advantage whatsoever in the ring.”

Garcia will now have a hearing with the New York State Athletic Commission to determine what happens next.

Now that Ryan Garcia has broken Devin Haney’s winning streak, who is his target? Will it be Gervonta Davis? The fighter’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya remains uninterested in a rematch between the two leading fighters. However, to get that fight rolling, he mentioned one pertinent condition that ‘Tank’ would have to abide by to fight ‘KingRy’ again.

Last April, Gervonta Davis, now Abdul Wahid, handed Ryan Garcia his first career loss with a brutal 7th-round knockout. This setback clearly shook “KingRy.” Not only did he endure heavy criticism for his performance that night, but a cloud of uncertainty also began to loom over his budding boxing career. Now, after the Haney upset, he’s propelled himself beyond these criticisms. So, is it finally time for him to get a shot at redemption against Tank?

In the wake of his victory over ‘The Dream’, Garcia was asked by many about a possible rematch with Tank. To them, he underscored that even if Tank defeated Frank Martin in their upcoming June 15 clash, there still would not be a rematch between them. Why? Because the fighter was moving up the weights. He noted, “I’m not going to 140, I’m going to 147.”

However, ‘Golden Boy’ in his conversation with the media, recently, also explained that the only way Tank could fight Garcia now would be at a catchweight of 143 or 144. Fight Hype recorded him saying, “Ryan Garcia told me he can’t make 140, so, he would want to fight at 143 or 144. Yeah, anybody who wants to fight him, call me at 144, and we make the fight happen.” For his fight against Haney, the California native missed weight by about 3.2 lbs, losing a shot at Haney’s title.

Now, he is certain that he cannot make 140. So, he asserted to fight only at 144 or above. In a fresh X post, he addressed a fight against “little Stupid tank.” In a direct call for a rematch, he wrote, “Come see me at 144 and let stop the talk…If you beat frank let’s run it @Gervontaa.” In a collage, he compared himself from their initial fight to where he stands now. As he did that, he called on Tank for a fight at a higher weight, where he can be comfortable this time around. “Let’s run it’s ABDUL!!!,” he called out in the post.

25-year-old Garcia seems to be running high on his victory. He is relentlessly calling on anyone and everyone for a fight. Moments after he challenged Tank for a rematch, he also expressed his fervent wishes to fight Sebastian Fundora, Rolando Romero, and Isaac Cruz. In an X post, he wrote, “Fundora for the 154 title…Rollies…Or pitbull  ‘this one would be hard to make’.

Speaking about the multiple fighters Garcia has challenged for a possible fight, Oscar De La Hoya told the media, “That’s the beauty of Ryan. Now, we have to believe him. Now, we have to like, we can’t be scratching our heads anymore with Ryan and saying, ‘Is he going to get in the ring?’ ‘Is he going to fight?’ No. Ryan is the perfect marketer for himself. He’s great for boxing.”

In his late March fight against Tim Tszyu, Sebastian Fundora defeated Tszyu to grab his WBO super welterweight as well as the vacant WBC title. ‘Rolly’ and ‘Pitbull’ Cruz on the other hand fought on the same card as Tszyu and Fundora. Pitbull in that fight defeated Rolly to grab his WBA super lightweight belt through an 8th-round knockout. Now it remains to be seen in which direction Ryan Garcia will go.