What a fight this is going to be.
This Saturday night Ryan Garcia takes on Gervonta Davis in a mega fight so mouthwatering that it could save boxing and the future of the sport.
Let’s be honest, the craft of the pugilist has been turned into a mockery in recent years. YouTubers earn more money than the genuine fighters, and there’s more belts on show than in River Island.
No sport in history deliberately eats itself like boxing – the big names refuse to fight each other, when they do fight each other it’s too late, the disparity with money is ridiculous, and you can have up to eight ‘world champions’ in each of the 17 weight divisions.
When a country goes bust, they print more money, which in turn creates hyperinflation, meaning that because there is more money, it’s less valuable, and therefor the cost of living goes up.
And so they would counter this by printing even more money, until it’s practically worthless – that’s what boxing has done with its mass production of world title belts. You have the WBA, WBO, WBC, IBF, and IBO world champions, and then each of them have ‘regular’ champs, ‘silver’ champs or ‘interim’ champs.
It’s so muddled and murky, the casual boxing fan has zero clarity on who is actually a champion and who has just got a good promoter.
However, this Saturday delivers a fight cut from the cloth of the old school. Two genuine world class fighters, both in their prime, both undefeated, both already big stars in the game, both rivals who hate each other, and they are actually getting into the ring!
Davis is a three weight world champion, and was brought into the professional game as Floyd Mayweather’s prodigy, the next ‘Money king’ who will dominate the sport.
The speed of @RyanGarcia is scary 😈 💨#DavisGarcia | Watch: https://t.co/NVL07bDnm8 pic.twitter.com/lkD5OItaWT
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) April 11, 2023
However, Mayweather promotions did what all promotions seem to do – keep their fighter safe from dangerous fights that could cost them their first loss on their record.
In an incredibly brave move, Davis got fed up and left his mentor, deciding that his legacy is just as important to him as big money fights – he backed himself.
Then you have Garcia. If YouTubers are out there pretending to be boxers, then Garcia is a boxer who pretends to be a YouTuber.
The lightening quick American has 13 million followers on his Instagram, flashes a smile every time a camera looks his way, and looks more like a model than a fighter.
However, this boy can fight. Born and raised in the game, Garcia has been boxing since he was a kid, turned pro early, and at just 24 years old, has some seriously impressive wins under his belt.
Most notably he stopped England’s Luke Campbell, an Olympic gold Medalist and world title challenger – something which the incredible Vasyl Lomachenko couldn’t even do.
They have both spent the last four years calling each other out, and most of us have been rolling our eyes and thinking that it’s all for show, just another boxing drama that will inevitably collapse over “contractual issues.”
These two young guns however put their money where their mouth is. They have set a precedent that other champions should follow.
𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊.
🔥 @Gervontaa vs. @RyanGarcia 🔥
Watch #DavisGarcia LIVE on PPV & on DAZN as part of your regular subscription in selected territories on April 22 pic.twitter.com/Cg9XJ5MOcq
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) April 18, 2023
If Tyson Fury had the same attitude that these lads had, we would have seen him in the ring against Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua by now.
Even if one of them loses, but puts in a good performance, they will still have enough credit in the bank to generate huge fights, call for that rematch, or go down a different avenue to become world champion.
The winner though – the winner will be catapulted into a different stratosphere of champion. A genuine number one that we can look to and say ‘that’s the guy, he’s the one to beat.’
Gervonta Davis & Ryan Garcia agree to put their entire fight purse on the line. The Winner will get everything 👀 pic.twitter.com/6uxiw4D2EL
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) April 18, 2023
Styles make fights as well and this is very much power vs speed, brute force vs finesse, and either fighter has the ability to knock the other out.
Instead of having to scroll through YouTube to watch old fight classics, we have our very own modern blockbuster right on the horizon.
Ryan Garcia vs Gervonta Davis is on this Saturday live on DAZN.
Related links:
- Katie Taylor chokes up during interview as enormity of homecoming sinks in
- Former world champion sums up Katie Taylor perfectly in bold tweet
- Katie Taylor finally gets her wish as brilliant homecoming fight confirmed
