Gervonta Davis beat Ryan Garcia conclusively earlier this year, but the latter says an injury played a big part.
‘Tank’ Davis dropped and stopped Garcia in April at a catchweight of 136lbs. In the aftermath, Garcia says he was weight drained and also hinted at an injury.
In an interview with The Last Stand, he confirmed that theory, saying that ‘a separated rib’ from training camp affected his preparation.
“I did go in the ring with a rib injury, a separated rib from sparring. was dehydrated and it was like one of the first shots of sparring. I didn’t even get hit hard. My rib just [sunk] in and I had to go to the hospital, spent there some time, and I couldn’t even run. I couldn’t do anything. It was about two weeks before the fight.
“There was nothing that I could do. I decided that I wasn’t gonna pull out. Too much time [had] been put into this and too much things went into making this fight happen. I wasn’t gonna pull out.”
Davis caught wind of the comments and took to social media to say it was ‘over’ for his rival.
“To be honest, I don’t know why this kid [Garcia] is talking. It’s over for this guy. Give him a year or two. [He has] no discipline, no dedication. He showed y’all on All Access, and it went right over y’all head.”
Garcia is angling for a rematch, but is one division up now, his maiden fight being a catchweight bout with Oscar Duarte.