The biggest rivalry of the modern boxing era will finally settle its score in early 2023 when Southern California superstar “King” Ryan Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs) takes on Baltimore’s Gervonta “Tank” Davis (27-0, 25 KOs). Las Vegas, Nevada, the historic home of boxing’s greatest grudge matches, will play host to one of the most anticipated fights to date, as the undefeated fighters put their perfect records on the line in a 12-round, 136-pound catchweight bout.
Like all great boxing rivalries, including Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier, Marvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns, Arturo Gatti vs. Rocky Graziano, to the most recent enmity between Manny Pacuiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. – King Ryan and Tank have circled each other for years, each calling the other out in a war of words as both built up undefeated resumes and scored knockout after knockout.
“This is the fight I want and this is the fight boxing needs. The hype, the storylines, the two athletes defining their sport inside the ring and out,” said Garcia. “I am going to knock Tank out and take my place as the face of our incredible sport, and I’m bringing a new generation of boxing fans with me. I appreciate Tank volunteering to get beat so that I can get to work.”
Garcia has built up an impressive resume across multiple weight classes, knocking out Olympian Luke Campbell in a 7th round TKO for the interim WBC lightweight belt, and most recently defeating Javier Fortuna in a 6th round knockout in front of a packed, star-studded audience at the Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles this July. Since then, he has been adamant about making his next bout the faceoff boxing fans have wanted to see for years, against longtime rival, Davis. As other banner boxing matches fell apart this fall, Garcia became a vocal advocate for player empowerment in the sport, arguing that negotiations among networks and promoters shouldn’t hold fighters and fans back from the superstar clashes the sport deserves. By saying what fans and fighters have felt for years, Garcia’s bold stance won him accolades across both the boxing community and the professional sports world.
