Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia Showdown is Finalized
Boxing fans will get at least one of the big fights they want in 2023.
Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia announced through their Instagram accounts Thursday that their representatives have completed a deal for the popular knockout artists to meet in a much-discussed showdown on a date to be determined in 2023. Their 12-round fight, which will be contested at a catch weight of 136 pounds, will be a Showtime Pay-Per-View main event from an undetermined venue in Las Vegas.
Baltimore’s Davis also confirmed on Twitter that he will fight January 7 against an opponent the unbeaten WBA world lightweight champion didn’t name. That fight also is expected to headline a Showtime Pay-Per-View event from a venue in Washington, D.C.
“This is the fight I want and this is the fight boxing needs,” Garcia stated in a press release. “The hype, the storylines, the two athletes defining their sport inside the ring and out. I am going to knock ‘Tank’ out and take my place as the face of our incredible sport, and I’m bringing a new generation of boxing fans with me. I appreciate Tank volunteering to get beat so that I can get to work.”
Determining distribution rights in the U.S. prolonged negotiations for several weeks, even after Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) and Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs) publicly expressed their desires to wrap up the deal. Showtime and DAZN ultimately reached a resolution to a much-needed agreement in the wake of the heavily hyped Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. welterweight title fight falling apart last month.
Showtime’s broadcast and production teams will handle the Davis-Garcia telecast. The event also will be made available for purchase on DAZN, but it is not a joint pay-per-view venture.
Showtime has televised Davis’ last 11 bouts either live on that network or on pay-per-view. DAZN has streamed each of Garcia’s past seven fights.
Davis, 28, and Garcia, 24, had hoped to square off January 7, but at least Davis will have what is likely to amount to a tune-up bout before moving forward to the Garcia fight.
A month after he will fight January 7, Davis is due in a Baltimore courtroom February 16 for what figures to be a short trial related to misdemeanor motor vehicle violations Davis allegedly committed in November 2020 in his hometown. Davis has been charged with 14 traffic violations stemming from a hit-and-run incident.
The resolution of that case likely will determine the date for his fight against Garcia, assuming Davis wins January 7.
