Late last year, Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Ryan Garcia made plans to meet in Las Vegas, Nevada for a major showdown. In the interim, Garcia and Davis had the opportunity to schedule an additional bout. Gervonta “Tank” Davis fought super featherweight champion Hector Luis Garcia at Capital One Arena in early January. Meanwhile, Ryan Garcia was scheduled to fight Mercito Gesta in Texas a few weeks later, but the Victorville native ultimately decided against it. During a recent press conference, the unbeaten lightweight contender explained why he decided not to take a fight before his battle with Gervonta “Tank” Davis.
“I just felt the struggles of making this fight and the things that had to be done, how long it was dragging out, I just didn’t wanna put that [at] risk,” Garcia said.
“Not for the loss, but you could hurt your hand, head-butts, lotta different issues that could occur in a fight. So, I chose not to, to secure this fight and make sure that it’s guaranteed. I didn’t wait that long just to mess it up at the finish line, so I made sure we got to the finish line. That’s why I chose not to get a tune-up.”
Garcia’s last fight took place at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles last July. He was able to knock out Javier Fortuna in the sixth round. Now, he will look to bring his power to the ring at the T-Mobile Arena on April 22, 2023.
