Garcia was fast out of his corner in the first round, throwing jabs to the head and body as Davis circled in reverse and took measure of his opponent. Davis barely threw a punch in the opening round, while the far-busier Garcia had yet to land anything of significance.
Ryan Garcia missed a left hand and was dumped to the floor of the ring with a huge counter left from Davis against the run of play but Garcia beats the count and seemed ok in a wild second round.
In round six, Garcia landed a right hand that appeared to wobble Davis along the ropes, then another right hand upstairs the middle. Chants of “Ry-an! Ry-an!” echoed through the arena. Davis slightly hit Garcia with an uppercut on the inside that Garcia tok well.
Garcia began the seventh round throwing a flurry of punches with Davis trapped in the corner but none of them land. Davis then landed a devastating straight left hand to the ribs that sent Garcia moving backwards in pain and down to one knee. Garcia stayed there as referee Thomas Taylor counted but he couldn’t beat it. Gervonta Davis won by knockout.
Asked what he might have done differently, Garcia says: “I should have pressured him a little bit more. I was giving him a little too much respect. I think that was my downfall.”
All three ringside judges had Davis ahead by scores of 58-56, 59-56 and 59-55.
“The reality definitely matches the dream. But the job is never done until I retire so I’m going to keep my head down, stay humble and continue to work,” said Davis.
