A rematch between Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia could be down the line for both fighters, but it will have to be free of the conditions that governed their first matchup, according to Garcia’s father.
Baltimore’s Davis stopped Garcia in seven rounds in their highly anticipated, 136-pound fight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The fight was reportedly a pay-per-view and box office hit.
In a recent interview, Henry Garcia, the father of the lightweight star from Victorville, California, was adamant that his son would look to resume his career at the 140-pound limit and that a rematch with Davis could be entertained at that weight class. More crucially, the rematch would also have to allow Garcia to rehydrate “normally.”
A big story going into their fight had to do with the rehydration clause that Davis’ team pushed for. Under those terms, both Garcia and Davis were prohibited from weighing more than 146 pounds on the morning of their fight, a factor that many regarded as being more restrictive toward Garcia, who is longer and taller. Garcia repeatedly took issue with that contractual stipulation going into their fight.
“We’re going to come back at 140,” Henry Garcia told Little Giant Boxing. “We’re not going to have conditions this time. Just the way it should be. You know what I have to thank the Davis team—congrats to the Davis team—I’m humble.
“It is what it is, but we’re going to come back.”
“The only way Ryan would do something like that (rematch Davis) is if Ryan moved up to 140 and rehydrated to, you know, a normal weight,” Garcia continued. “That’s the only way. But right now, we did what we could. He gave the whole world a great fight. They loved it. But we’re gonna move on and we’re just gonna prevail.
In an interview with FightHub, Henry Garcia indicated that his son had told him that he felt drained going into Saturday’s contest.
“Had he not taken those stipulations, this fight wouldn’t have occurred,” the elder Garcia said. “He did tell me personally on a side note, ‘Dad, I did feel it as soon as I got in the ring. My legs were a little gone, but I wanted this fight,’ because he’s always dreamed about it, and it happened.”
Sean Nam is the author of the forthcoming book Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.
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