Notebook: Davis, Garcia make weight before shoving match
BetUS show; Broner opponent set; Quick hits; Show and tell
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LAS VEGAS — As Gervonta “Tank” Davis and “King” Ryan Garcia confronted each other for their face off after weighing in on Friday afternoon, Davis was suddenly distracted by the legendary Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins, a partner in Golden Boy, which promotes Garcia.
Davis and Hopkins — a master of mind games during his career — jawed at each other and when Davis turned back to face Garcia they also exchanged animated words.
They went nose to nose and whatever was said, Davis eventually pushed Garcia in the chest. Promoter Tom Brown of TGB Promotions immediately intervened to separate them on the crowded stage that included Mike Tyson in the sweltering heat outside T-Mobile Arena, where thousands of fans gathered to witness the weigh-in.
Perhaps the violent spark was a portend of things to come when Garcia and Davis square off in the biggest fight of the year so far on Saturday (Showtime PPV and PPV.com, 8 p.m. ET, $84.99) inside T-Mobile Arena in a fight contracted at 136 pounds.
Neither man appeared to have any issue making the weight, which has been so much a part of the buildup to the fight.
The naturally bigger Garcia, whose last two fights have in 140-pound division but agreed to drop down in his efforts to get the fight, weighed 135.5 pounds. Davis, who holds the WBA secondary lightweight title, was 135.1 pounds, just a hair over the lightweight limit for the 12-round nontitle fight.
Asked about what went on between him and Hopkins, Davis said of Hopkins “he need to sit back and let the young ones do it.”
Davis (28-0, 26 KOs), 28, a southpaw from Baltimore, is headlining his sixth consecutive Showtime PPV card but this bout is by far the biggest of his career and the big crowd that turned out seemed to animate him.
“It makes me excited,” Davis said. “It makes me want to go out there and put on a great performance in front of the beautiful fans and get the job done.”
So how does he plan to get that job done?
“Punishment, knockout,” Davis said. “It’s gonna be crazy. Don’t blink your eyes. Don’t get no popcorn. Don’t get no drink, none of that. Make sure you’re focused on the fight because it’s gonna be an incredible fight.”
For Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs), 24, of Los Angeles, the question was how would he deal with coming down to 136 pounds. He said he was fine doing it, although he and Davis can only re-hydrate to as much as 146 pounds for a weight check at 11 a.m. PT on Saturday. Davis insisted on the re-hydration clause in their contract.
“I feel good right now. I had breakfast in the morning, so I feel strong,” Garcia said.
He said he was not paying attention to what went on between Davis and Hopkins.
“I think him and Bernard started to get into it and it just became something crazy, but I was focused and I’m ready to do my job,” Garcia said.
“I’m just ready to eat now. I’m ready eat. I’m focused. I don’t have much to say. My focus now is just on Gervonta Davis. I’m ready to destroy him. That’s it.”
Pro Boxing Fans appearance
Soon after I arrived in Las Vegas on Wednesday, I joined my pals at Pro Boxing Fans to talk about many aspects of Davis-Garcia (the fight and the business) as well as Joe Joyce’s upset loss to Zhang Zhilei and rumors of a heavyweight tournament in Saudi Arabia. Check out the video here:
BetUS Boxing Show
If you missed the BetUS Boxing Show live at 1 p.m. ET on Friday on YouTube, please check out the replay (and also subscribe to the YouTube channel). We previewed and picked Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia, the David Morrell-Yamaguchi Falcao co-feature and Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov’s junior lightweight title defense against former titlist Joe Cordina in the DAZN main event on Saturday in Cardiff, Wales. We also and took viewer questions and comments! Please check out the show here:
Quick hits
Weights from Las Vegas for Saturday night’s PBC/Showtime PPV card: Gervonta Davis 135.1 pounds, Ryan Garcia 135.5; David Morrell 167.8, Yamaguchi Falcao 166.4 (for Morrell’s WBA “regular” super middleweight title); Gabriel Rosado 167.3, Bektemir Melikuziev 167.3; Elijah Garcia 159.2, Kevin Salgado 159.3; Fiodor Czerkaszyn 159.1, Elias Espadas 158.9; Vito Mielnicki Jr. 153.1, Jose Charles 154.3; Floyd Schofield 134.7, Valentin Leon Jr. 134; Lorenzo Simpson 161.6, Pachino Hill 163.3; Cuttino Oliver 115.6, Roberto Cantu Pena 117.3; Jalil Hackett 153.9, Jason Phillips 153.5.
Weights from Rzeszow, Poland for Saturday’s KnockOut Promotions/Boxxer card: Alen Babic 210.75 pounds, Lukasz Rozanski 222.25 (for vacant WBC bridgerweight title); Martin Bakole 280.6, Ihor Shevadzutskiy 276.9; Michal Cieslak 198.9, Dylan Bregeon 198.6 (for vacant European cruiserweight title); Jeamie “TKV” Tshikeva 259.5, Michal Boloz 223.1; Boris Crighton 170.4, Steed Woodall 172.8.
Former four-division titlist Adrian Broner (34-1-1, 24 KOs), 33, of Cincinnati, who recently signed with promoter Don King as he attempts to resurrect his faded career, will fight Pittsburgh club fighter Bill Hutchinson (20-2-4, 9 KOs), 34, in the first fight of the deal on June 9 at Miami Casino in Miami, Florida, sources with knowledge of the plans told Fight Freaks Unite. King and Broner are hosting a news conference on Saturday in Las Vegas to make the official announcement. Broner is 1-2-1 in his last four fights since 2017 and has not boxed since a controversial decision over Jovanie Santiago in February 2021. Broner has had myriad legal problems and also withdrew from a bout due to metal health issues.
Unified women’s strawweight titlist Seniesa Estrada is penciled in to defend her belts July 22 on a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card against an opponent to be determined, a source with knowledge of the schedule told Fight Freaks Unite. It is hot determined if Estrada will headline the show or fight in the co-feature. Estrada (24-0, 9 KOs), 30, of Los Angeles, signed with Top Rank in late 2022 and in her second fight of the deal shut out Tina Rupprecht to unify the WBA and WBC titles on March 25 in Fresno, California, in the co-feature of former unified junior welterweight titlist Jose Ramirez’s 11th-round knockout of Richard Commey.
Top Rank announced that prized lightweight prospect Emiliano Vargas, the son of former two-time junior middleweight titlist Fernando Vargas will fight on the ESPN+-streamed undercard of the Devin Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko undisputed lightweight title fight on May 20 (ESPN PPV) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Vargas (4-0, 3 KOs), 19, of Las Vegas, will face a foe to be announced in a four-rounder.
Show and tell
Garcia-Davis is a huge fight and Seidman Productions, which has done merchandise for boxing events since the 1980s, produced the official program and poster for the fight. I have written for the company programs for more than 20 years and, of course, will add some of the merch to my collection. Below is the program, which comes with a cards of each fighter, which can be seen in the second photo. I have written the backs for every card in the ongoing set. For fights fans in town, programs and posters are on sale at the host hotel MGM Grand gift shop, will also be on sale on fight night at T-Mobile Arena and are also available on the Seidman Productions website.
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Photos: Davis-Garcia and Morrell-Falcao: Esther Lin/Showtime; Babic-Rozanski: Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer
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If Garcia hadn't accepted a 136lb catchweight AND a rehydration clause we wouldn't be watching this fight tonight. The kid should get credit for that win or lose.
I find Tank's camp's insistence on this 10lb rehydration clause is disgraceful and rather cowardly after being given the advantage of the 136lb catchweight.
I hope Garcia wins but tbh I think he's given up too much - unfortunately I think Tank will probably win but I really hope I'm wrong.