Gervonta Davis has announced a new date for his catchweight clash with Ryan Garcia, seemingly confirming that the contracts have been signed and the fight is set to go ahead.
There were plenty of hurdles involved since the pair tentatively announced that they would be fighting. Davis fought on January 7, beating Hector Luis Garcia by stoppage. ‘KingRy’ skipped a tune-up fight, but Davis had a court hearing to attend in February.
With sentencing pushed back until May, and any tough negotiations apparently all sorted, it looks like boxing fans will get one of the most intriguing, marketable, and explosive fights on offer.
In ‘Tank’s Twitter announcement, he highlighted the new date of April 22 – previously April 15 – as the timeframe. The location remains Las Vegas, with no venue within Sin City announced as yet. The weight is, as previously reported, a catchweight of 136lb.
April 22, 2023
Las Vegas
It’s on! #DavisGarcia GOOOOO— Gervonta Davis (@Gervontaa) February 24, 2023
The most recent sticking point was a rematch clause for Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) should he lose. Garcia’s (23-0, 19 KOs) side were said to be okay with that in the contract, however they wanted promotional and broadcast control of the second fight should it happen.
Despite reports that this issue could be the downfall of the scrap, it appears both sides have come to a reasonable agreement.
The matchmaking represents a welcome change in boxing – a sport which often sees the best fights go begging due to a lack of cross-promotional work.
It has previously been reported that both PBC (Davis) and Golden Boy (Garcia) will work on a joint promotion, and Showtime will produce the event but it will also be available to view through DAZN’s PPV set up. Both broadcasters also announced the fight as official.
Whilst all details still need to be confirmed, things are looking good for the two undefeated superstars to lock horns in two months’ time.