Before his 2022 unfolded, the career of Hector Luis Garcia was floundering into obscurity. Despite being undefeated and a former Olympian, the 31-year-old was given the slimmest of chances during his showdown against Chris Colbert. Yet, even with the Brooklyn native bombastically proclaiming that he made quick work of his man, he was forced to eat his words as Garcia cruised to a unanimous decision victory.
Just a few months later, Garcia (16-0, 10 KOs) cashed in on that momentum with a world title win over Roger Gutierrez, crowning him as the WBA super featherweight champion. Ostensibly keeping a close eye on his sudden rise to fame, Gervonta “Tank” Davis has chosen the Dominican native as his next foe.
Officially, the two will throw hellacious blows against one another in the center of the ring on January 7th, at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. Since making the formal announcement, Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) has spewed perpetual praise on his upcoming rival. Devin Haney, however, believes that his compliments are simply spurious. Having spent close time with Garcia during one of his more recent training camps, Haney is under the impression that Davis will hardly break a sweat.
“I sparred him,” said Haney to Thaboxingvoice. “He’s a tuneup. I kicked him out of camp. He couldn't last. I sparred him for the Jo Jo Diaz fight. I think I sparred him two times or three times. He just couldn't keep up.”
Although Haney is unimpressed with what Garcia brings to the table, he’s well aware that Davis will have to remain focused in order to reach the golden pot at the end of the rainbow. With a win come January 7th, Davis will then square off against longtime rival, Ryan Garcia.
In the meanwhile, nevertheless, Haney urges Davis to keep his eyes on the prize. As the current undisputed champion at 135-pounds takes a step back and observes Hector Garcia in totality, he has a difficult time viewing him as nothing more than a tenuous challenger.
If, however, Davis saunters into their showdown with a vagarious game plan, Haney is convinced that Garcia could make him pay dearly.
“I don’t really rate him that much but Tank can't take him lightly. He’s still an opponent, he’s still hungry, coming to win. You saw what he did to B-Hop (Chris Colbert).”
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