Gervonta Davis has already agreed to fight Ryan Garcia, but first, he’ll have to successfully get past a separate dance partner in Hector Luis Garcia on Jan. 7.
Davis’ fight against Garcia – set to headline a Showtime pay-per-view event at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. – cannot be considered a tune-up or stay-busy fight for the Baltimore-based boxer by any means.
After all, the 31-year-old Garcia (16-0, 10 KOs) is on the shortlist for being one of the sport’s best breakthrough stories of 2022.
The Dominican southpaw from San Juan de la Maguana knocked down Chris Colbert and scored a unanimous decision win against the heralded, then-unbeaten contender in February. Following the upset win, Garcia outlasted Roger Gutierrez in August in yet another unanimous decision victory to claim the 130-pound WBA title.
Garcia will be climbing up a weight class to face Davis at 135 pounds.
“El Androide” will sport a 3 ½ inch reach advantage and plenty of confidence heading into the clash.
Garcia’s sudden ascent is not lost on Davis.
“I'm definitely not sleeping on him or overlooking him. You saw what he did against Colbert,” Davis said in a Twitter Spaces conversation hosted by @LazyLeftyOG.
“I know that he's technical. He's got a little pop. I just want to put on a great performance. I'm going back and watching tape and studying him. I'm not a guy who overlooks my opponent just because social media says someone is trash or anything like that. I don't think he's trash.”
Davis said he's always been the kind of fighter who stays focused on the opponent in front of him and respects each foe as a threat in their own respect.
Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) is coming off a sixth-round KO win against Rolando Romero in May.
Garcia, meanwhile, is headed toward a fight of his own in January and is set to take on Mercito Gesta.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com.