LAS VEGAS — In a matchup between two of the brightest young stars in boxing today, it was expected that Gervonta “Tank” Davis’ advantage in power would be the difference.
In the end, it surely was as Davis (29-0, 27 KOs), arguably the top knockout artist in the sport today, floored Ryan Garcia in Round 2 before finishing him off with a body shot in Round 7 to score a resounding one-punch knockout on Saturday inside a sold-out T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Garcia (23-1, 19 KOs) was game throughout and landed a series of single power shots to get Davis’ attention, was unable to beat the count following a sneaky counter left hand to the body. The 24-year-old social media star went down to one knee after a delayed reaction as blood flowed from his nose but couldn’t regroup as referee Thomas Taylor counted Garcia out just as he rose to his feet at 1:44 of Round 7.
Davis, 28, who reunited with former promoter Floyd Mayweather before the fight, hugged his longtime mentor after the victory with a huge smile on his face. Despite the narrative surrounding this fight that the winner might become the new face of the sport, Davis spent most of the promotion reminding media members he already is, which was hard to debate following his performance.
CBS Sports was with you throughout the entire way on Saturday with the live results and highlights below.
Fight card, results Gervonta “Tank” Davis vs. Ryan Garcia, super lightweight David Morrell (c) def. Yamaguchi Falcao via first-round knockout* Bektemir Melikuziev def. Gabriel Rosado via unanimous decision (99-91, 99-91, 99-91) Elija Garcia def. Kevin Zambrano via unanimous decision (95-94, 97-92, 97-92) *-WBA “regular” super middleweight title
