Ryan Garcia will wait out Gervonta Davis’ next fight with the intention of heading into a straight-on collision.
BoxingScene.com has confirmed that a planned stay-busy fight for Garcia is no longer in play, after previously eyeing a ring return in late January. Garcia was set to face Filipino southpaw Mercito Gesta on January 21, with the date then pushed back by a week and now off the calendar altogether.
“Been thinking about it during the time they were figuring out this fight and I feel the fans and everyone who supports boxing have seen these tune-ups,” Garcia said in a social media post shortly after confirming that he will no longer fight in January. “It’s time that we give the fans what they want. Also, [Davis] requested the tune-up not me so let him handle business. LETS [sic] GO.”
Golden Boy Promotions representatives confirmed to BoxingScene.com the validity of Garcia’s public statement and that his January fight date is no longer in play.
Baltimore’s Davis (27-0, 25KOs) remains set for a secondary WBA lightweight title defense versus Dominican Republic’s Hector Luis Garcia (16-0, 10KOs with 3 No-Contests; no relation to Ryan), the reigning WBA junior lightweight titlist who will move up in weight. Their bout will headline a January 7 Showtime Pay-Per-View event from Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
With a win, Davis will then move on to a superfight with Victorville, California’s Garcia (23-0, 19KOs), with their bout targeted for April.
Garcia last fought on July 16, scoring a sixth-round knockout of former secondary WBA junior lightweight titlist Javier Fortuna atop a DAZN show from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The bout was his second in just over three months after having previously not fought in 15 months.
Following the Fortuna win, Garcia was adamant about securing a major fight—namely a blockbuster showdown with Davis, an explosive knockout artist and widely regarded as one of the sport’s biggest stars. The desire for such a fight saw Garcia even take a hardline stance with Golden Boy Promotions to ensure that nothing stood in the way of the fight moving forward.
The unbeaten fighters both came to terms, but a dispute between platforms prevented the fight from taking place by year’s end or even in January. Davis is a Showtime fighter, while Golden Boy Promotions enjoys an output deal with DAZN who insisted on being involved in the event.
A compromise was eventually reached, though with both fighters announcing separate showcase appearances before their own anticipated clash.
Garcia has since changed plans on his end.
“I refuse to do another tune up,” Garcia stated in a separate post. “I’m ready for this moment. In my heart I didn’t want to do that to you guys! We are coming straight for Tank!
“I apologize to any that wanted to see me in [January] but this fight is everything… you guys seen me from the garage training and now to the biggest stage.”
By Jake Donovan