LAS VEGAS – Kyrone Davis scored the win of his career, handing touted Phoenix prospect Elijah Garcia his first loss in a 10-rounder at the MGM Grand on Saturday.

Davis was a worthy winner by margins of 97-93 (twice), with one judge voting for Garcia by 98-92.

Davis won more rounds and had to fend off a determined finish from Garcia, who emptied the tank near the end but had left it too late.

The fight was finally on after it had been due to take place here in Las Vegas on May 30, only for Garcia to fall ill before the bout. This fight was thrown into jeopardy when Garcia came in at 163.2 pounds, 3.2 pounds over the middleweight limit (he lost 2 pounds to get down to that), at yesterday’s weigh-in. But Garcia came in at 173 pounds Saturday morning, meeting the conditions of the rehydration clause implemented by Davis’ team.

Davis needed time to compose himself during the post-fight interview as emotions bubbled over.

“We knew a couple of things, I had a strategy,” he said. “We knew he was going to try that left to the body, so we would put his right hand where that left hand was going to be.”

It opened with Davis looking for the right hand, scoring with a couple in the opening round while southpaw Garcia appeared measured and composed. Still, Davis found a home for a good right hand around the side of Garcia’s gloves that drew a smile from the Phoenix hope. It was an early marker.

Garcia found it hard to pin Davis down, but the third became exciting after Davis landed a couple of solid rights and Garcia clapped back with a straight left. Garcia also got some blows in beneath Davis’ elbows.

Davis was using the ring, but he would stop to let his hands go and then move off. That worked well and the success continued as he put his left glove in Garcia’s face, making him react and then firing in right hands around the side. Garcia was persistent, staying right in front of Davis, working the body and scoring with a left over the top, which drew gasps from the crowd.

When Davis smashed home a couple of rights near the end of the sixth, it seemed to light a fire under Garcia, who fought for ownership of the round. But Davis accommodated him in a hard exchange up to the bell.

The bout was every bit as close and hard-fought as many had predicted. Davis’ right hand was the most consistent scoring punch, but Garcia ploughed forward, driven by heart and bottle, soaking up Davis right hands like they were jabs. Still, Garcia came forward, working the body and catching Davis with occasional counters.

And there was a greater sense of urgency from Garcia in the ninth. He was faster to close the distance and busier with both hands, but he struggled to maintain that for the full three minutes.

Davis was not boxing with the same level of control and authority in the ninth and 10th, and “Eli” poured it on late, even taking one or two shots on the way in to make his own mark. But Davis, trained by Stephen “Breadman” Edwards, had run up an unassailable lead.

Elijah Garcia is now 16-1 (13 KOs) while Davis, fighting out of Wilmington, Delaware, is 19-3-1 (6 KOs).

Former WBC featherweight titleholder and Filipino Mark Magsayo (26-2, 17 KOs) won his second bout at junior lightweight, dropping Eduardo Ramirez on his way to a wide 10-round decision.

Magsayo was victorious by margins of 97-92 (twice) and 99-90.

“It’s a great fight for me. Eduardo is a good fighter,” said Magsayo, who boxes out of Tagbilaran City. 

Southpaw Ramirez, from Los Mochis, Mexico, is now 28-4-3 (13 KOs).

The opening frame saw both boxing cautiously and Magsayo looking to counter behind a high guard, with Hernandez attempting to time his shots.

The Filipino bossed the second, scoring with an early left hook and a right hand, and making Ramirez’s life uncomfortable with a double jab and a left hook near the bell.

The knockdown came in the third. Magsayo was in an attacking frame of mind and he had Ramirez down from a right hand. It looked like a flash knockdown from my seat, but Ramirez used the count to collect himself.

The action at the start of the fourth was paused following a clash of heads, but Ramirez enjoyed a better round thereafter and he made Magsayo work in the fifth, threading through some nice short right uppercuts and also daring Magsayo to follow in after the Filipino had landed some punches.

Magsayo’s bodywork became a particular feature of his attack from the sixth round, and although Ramirez did some of his best work trying to compete in the eighth, and while both had their moments in the ninth, the upper hand was often held by the former titlist.

Tired, Ramirez tumbled to the deck early in the last session and stayed there, flat on his back, for longer than the referee wanted. Both finished trying to make their case for victory, but Magsayo’s work had been cleaner, better and more prolific.