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SAN ANTONIO – Ryan Garcia and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis held court at separate press conferences nearly 1,900 miles apart to sell their next respective fights.
However, there still exists the desire for the pair of unbeaten lightweights to eventually meet.
Davis’ upcoming secondary WBA lightweight title defense versus heated rival Rolando Romero (14-0, 12KOs) was formally announced Thursday morning, with the grudge match to headline a May 28 Showtime Pay-Per-View from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Seven weeks prior comes the return of Garcia (21-0, 18KOs), who ends a 15-month hiatus as he faces Ghana’s Emmanuel Tagoe (32-1, 15KOs) this Saturday on DAZN from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
With the undisputed championship between lineal/WBA/IBF/WBO champ George Kambosos (20-0, 10KOs) and WBC titlist Devin Haney (27-0, 15KOs) potentially becoming a two-fight set, the only other major fight at lightweight that makes sense—and perhaps more dollars than any other fight in the sport—is a Davis-Garcia clash.
“If there is a fight that would do over a million (Pay-Per-View) buys, it’s Ryan Garcia and Tank Davis,” Oscar De La Hoya, Garcia’s promoter and founder/chairman of Golden Boy Promotions insisted to BoxingScene.com. “This can be a mega-fight and it needs to happen.
“I’m hearing rumblings that Tank Davis is leaving Mayweather or it’s his last fight. I personally would love to sit down with Mayweather and talk about making that fight happen. It will be easier talking and negotiating with Mayweather than with anyone else.”
The fight was passionately discussed after Garcia’s previous ring appearance, a seventh-round knockout of England’s 2012 Olympic Gold medalist and former title challenger Luke Campbell (20-4, 16KOs) last January in Dallas. Hopes of a desired showdown with Baltimore’s Davis (26-0, 24KOs) fell through, after Garcia and Golden Boy never quite pulling the trigger despite a strong willingness on the part of Davis and Mayweather Promotions to have made the fight for last spring.
Garcia wound up sitting out the rest of 2021, due to a mental health reset last summer and then to repair an injured right wrist last fall. Davis fought and won twice, claiming an eleventh-round knockout of unbeaten Mario Barrios in a junior welterweight fight last June before dropping back down to lightweight where he earned a twelve-round decision over Isaac Cruz last December in Los Angeles.
Both wins produced big gates, though middling pay-per-view results. Garcia has yet to headline his own PPV event (Davis will enter his fifth straight with the Romero fight) but enjoys a rabid fan base. It remains to be seen how well he can carry an event on his own, though it stands to reason that the two most popular fighters in the division can combine to do big business.
“Why not,” Eric Gomez, president of Golden Boy theorized to BoxingScene.com. “If we can make a deal with them, if they are willing to work with us, we would love to make that fight.”
Of course, both still have to win their next fight.
Garcia ends a 15-month layoff with a streaking contender in Tagoe who—despite having not fought since November 2020—has won 32 in a row since losing his pro debut as a 15-year-old way back in June 2004. Davis is unbeaten across three weight divisions, though with an opponent in Las Vegas’ Romero who has never lost and also has little to no respect for his upcoming ring rival.
Garcia and Davis are both favored to prevail and rarely disappoint on the entertainment front. Wins by both will almost certainly generate instant demand for a direct clash as their next order of business.
“Look, Mayweather Promotions has done a great job with Tank Davis,” acknowledges De La Hoya. “That’s the superfight to make in the near future. That’s the fight we want.
“Ryan Garcia is on the verge of greatness. Those are the fights you have to make.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox