Gervonta Davis beat Ryan Garcia via TKO in the seventh round of their catchweight contest, but there’s some controversy around the score cards at the time of the stoppage.
The Las Vegas event was big time boxing personified, but the fight wasn’t as close as some had it going in. A slower starting Davis took complete control in the early rounds and went on to finish the job.Although both were tentative, Garcia pushed the pace in round one. It was the second in which things ignited properly.
Davis survived a swarming Garcia in the first minute and a half, making it ugly by holding on and diving in for the clinch. It ultimately played into his hands, though, as he caught Garcia with a short left hook that dropped him for a referee count.
Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia scorecards
The round was scored 10-9 to Davis on two of the judges scorecards – Tim Cheatham and Steve Weisfeld – and 10-10 by Dave Moretti.
Of course, a knockdown, as per the rules, doesn’t necessarily mean a 10-8 round. The scoring is at the judge’s discretion, and if they feel Fighter B – Garcia in this case – was dominating up to and until Fighter A – ‘Tank’ – knocked them down, they can score 10-9 to Fighter A or even 10-10.
So not impossible, but unfair? The majority of fans seem to believe so. Garcia was indeed pushing the action up until he was caught, with Davis much more keen on trying to hold on rather than throw back. CompuBox says that, of his 30 punches thrown, Garcia landed seven.
‘Tank’ threw six and landed three, but there’s no question as to the significance of those, especially that short left hook to cause the knockdown.
One fan branded it a ‘disgrace’, also disagreeing with Moretti having Davis winning the first. It was these two rounds in particular most were baffled by, with many calling for an investigation from the commission, but some agreeing with the theory above.
At the time of the stoppage, ‘Tank’ was up on all three cards, and, in the end, didn’t need the ringside officials. A crisp body shot sent Garcia down in the seventh and he couldn’t get back up.