Only seven weeks remain until Gervonta Davis, and Ryan Garcia are due to trade blows in Las Vegas. A deal remains unannounced on Friday.
Despite Oscar De La Hoya continually stating the fight will be confirmed by specific dates, nothing has been forthcoming on the match-up.
Boxing has been declared at a crisis point after yet another encounter the fans want to happen threatens to fall apart. Davis vs Garcia failed to be rubberstamped on Monday when lead promoter De La Hoya stated it would be.
On three occasions, the Golden Boy boss teased by saying he expected confirmation to occur on a specific date.
Last Saturday at Fox Theater, De La Hoya said he hoped Davis and Garcia would proclaim signed contracts for the fight via Instagram. He gave an expected Monday date but added that Tuesday was the cut-off point for the deal.
De La Hoya made a similar last month before a rematch clause became the problem.
Gervonta Davis vs Ryan Garcia crisis For a third occasion, that deadline has passed, leaving fans in the dark as to why the fight is still not signed after months of negotiations.
According to De La Hoya, everything is agreed upon for a Showtime/DAZN Pay Per View bout in Las Vegas on April 15. Therefore, the biting of fingernails has replaced the initial excitement.
Baltimore native Davis has to fight before May 5. This is due to Tank getting sentenced for a hit-and-run crash misdemeanor with expected jail time.
A pregnant woman was injured in a mid-November accident in 2020. It adds to a domestic violence charge of battery for a separate incident.
The whole scenario means it is now or never for Davis.
WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman has since said that the state of play between promoters and their failure to work together affects everyone in the sport.
“It’s time for fight fans to get the fights they want to see to be confirmed and promoted,” said Sulaiman. “So many great ones have been delayed for various reasons.
“It is incorrect to say that there are culprits since many factors are involved in big promotions. But it is high time to demand that everyone involved agree and make them happen.
Egos and power “Promoters, managers, TV networks or streaming platforms, and the fighters must fulfill their commitments to the fans. They must put aside their egos and positions of power to reach an agreement and sign the fights.”
Sulaiman continued: “Boxing is going through the worst estrangement crisis between promoters. This puts the integrity of the sport at risk.
“It also complicates the administration of world championships, creating a highly complex scenario for fights. [This happens] When one boxer is with one company and the other fighter has signed for another.
“This is the time to turn it around. To bury the hatchets and make the fights.”
Gervonta Davis vs Ryan Garcia is just another failure in a long list of fights that have failed to get over the line. The whole debacle heads back to 2018 when Anthony Joshua said he’d fight Deontay Wilder for $50 million.
When the money was offered and secured, Joshua walked away. The Briton cited a mandatory WBA that didn’t have to exist as his reasoning.
Joshua again negated a fight in 2021 when an agreement was in place to face Tyson Fury, stating he wasn’t ready for the battle.
Errol Spence vs Terence Crawford is another example of how two sides failed to give the fans the fight they craved.
