Davis: ‘I’m definitely the face of boxing’

Gervonta Davis showed the world that he might be the face of boxing after stopping Ryan Garcia with a vicious body shot in round seven of their catchweight(136 pounds) showdown at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night(Showtime PPV).

“I’m definitely the face of boxing,” Davis said after the win. 

Davis(29-0, 27 KOs) led on all three cards, with scores of 59-55, 59-56, and 58-56 at the time of the stoppage. 

In front of a sold-out crowd(20,842), the Baltimore native dropped Garcia(23-1, 19 KOs) in the second round with a beautiful left hand. From there, Garcia was less aggressive, and Davis was in complete control.

“The first knockdown was just him not knowing his placement,” Davis said. “I knew that I was the smaller guy, and my coach was telling me in camp that he’s going to come up with his head up, so just shoot over the top.”

Garcia said he showed Davis too much respect in this fight.

“I think I should have pressured him a little harder near the ropes,” Garcia said. “I was giving him a little bit too much respect, and I think that was my downfall. I think I gave him a little too much respect in the ring.”

The night ended in the seventh when Davis hit Garcia in the body with a straight right hand, which caused a delayed reaction and forced Garcia to retreat and take a knee; he could not get up, and the fight was called off at 1:44 in the round.

“I didn’t think that body shot would end it, but I saw his facial expression, and that’s what made me take it to him,” Davis said. “It was a good shot, for sure. I thought he was going to get up, but I like to play mind games, so when he was looking at me, I was looking at him, trying to tell him, ‘Get up!’ And he just shook his head, no.”

Garcia added on the knockdown: “He just caught me with a good shot. I don’t want to make any excuses in here. He caught me with a good shot, and I just couldn’t recover, and that’s it. He caught me with a good body shot, snuck under me, and caught me good. I couldn’t breathe. I was going to get back up, but I just couldn’t get up.”

Davis headlined his first show in Las Vegas; it was a smashing success and a dream come true.

“Everything about this was exciting,” he said. “I was excited to be a part of this event. I remember coming up in the Golden Gloves and seeing Floyd Mayweather fight at MGM Grand. It was crazy. I actually just saw Rihanna perform at the Super Bowl, and I thought, ‘That’s going to be me one day.’ And we’re here. The reality definitely matches the dream.”

This was a great night for boxing and a great night for Davis. Garcia is a talented fighter, but there are levels to this, and he was not on Davis’ level.