It’s time for the big one finally. Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia.
Excuse me, while I put on my bib as you read through our three possible scenarios.
FIRST. Gervonta Davis comes out swinging in the first two rounds. Perhaps thinking Garcia is a bit of a slow starter, he seems bent on not letting Garcia assume a proper punching rhythm and for the most part, it works as he catches his taller opponent flush with several wide hooks.
But Davis eases up on the throttle in Round 4 and Garcia starts to find a home for his jab.
Garcia snakes his jab repeatedly onto an oncoming “Tank” and enjoys huge success as by the eighth round, Davis’ left eye begins to close.
The ref takes a look in between the rounds and motions for the action to continue.
Davis gets his second wind in the ninth, seemingly emboldened by the possibility the fight could get stopped on account of his infirmity.
He gets in a couple of good licks but Garcia is also relentless. He pummels that round, bulging eye and in the 11th, the ref takes one good look and calls for the denouement of the bout.
SECOND. Both fighters start out cautiously, exchanging jabs. Garcia gains the upper hand in the exchanges as he is able to capitalize on his reach advantage.
However, Gervonta lands a sneaky left hook in the third and down goes Ryan for the second time in his career.
His first had been courtesy of Ryan Campbell and during that sequence he was able to clear the cobwebs and return the favor to win via stoppage.
This time though, he seems a bit glassy eyed and he spends the remainder of the round, trying to avoid Davis and jabbing his way to safety.
Garcia seems to exhibit remarkable recuperative powers as he is back to being the aggressor in the middle rounds, but in the eighth, Gervonta lands a sick-looking uppercut followed by a right hook that sends Garcia reeling.
Davis is on him immediately and unloads several combinations, some of which land while the rest are parried by Garcia. However, the ref decides he has seen enough and calls for the stoppage.
THIRD. Garcia starts out fast and lands two punch combos on Davis who seems to have a hard time getting inside to land his punches.
The pattern repeats itself until the middle rounds with Garcia dominating the action.
Davis is cut in the seventh round but it’s not fight-ending as it doesn’t hamper his vision. Still, the sight of blood oozing down his cheeks seems to give off the impression that Garcia is going to be a run-away winner.
Garcia continues to pile on the pressure but Davis suddenly comes alive in the 10th and lands several hooks to the body that slows down Garcia.
The championship rounds are close, but Davis is clearly the aggressor, walking down a visibly weakened Garcia.
In the end, the refs unanimously decided in favor of Garcia. It was close, but unanimous.
VERBATIM. “I felt a little dizzy. I said, ‘Man, I have been drunk way worse than this,’“ said Garcia via Inside Sport.
LAST ROUND. It’s on my dearest mom, Elena Mayol Quijano, who would have turned 83 this week. Happy birthday in heaven, Ma.