On Thursday, Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Ryan Garcia agreed to finally meet in the ring sometime next year at a venue to be determined.
The news that most boxing and all casual fans have been waiting for has finally arrived in the social media space. Ryan Garcia (23-0) will take on Gervonta “Tank” Davis (27-0) at a date and place to be decided in 2023. Don’t get me wrong, this is excellent news for many different reasons, but we have to control our excitement for a second because events still have to come. Speak for this super battle to happen.
Before we get into the potential roadblocks, let’s look at this situation as “the glass half full.” Garcia is signed to Golden Boy Promotions, and through them he is someone who fights under the DAZN streaming service. Davis is run by Al Haymon (Premium Boxing Champion), which means Showtime has had his fights. For a while now, there’s been a sense of a “cold war” between Showtime and DAZN, resulting in the fights fans don’t want to see. An example of this happened this year when Jaime Mongoya and Jermal Charlo were rumored to have struck a deal, which fell apart because DAZN and Showtime couldn’t come to an agreement. This is different because there is a lot of interest in this fight not only from purists but also from popular culture.
A press release was sent out, and Stephen Espinosa, President of SHOWTIME Sports, had this to say about the fighters announcing the deal:
“Tank Davis vs. Ryan Garcia is one of the biggest and most exciting fights to have in boxing. We have two very talented boxers, both in their prime, who have amassed huge fanbases, who meet in a fight that defines their careers. This is the epitome of a boxing crossover event All credit to Tank and Ryan for staying the course and giving fans the fight they want. SHOWTIME delivered the three biggest pay-per-view events in TV history, and we’re thrilled to add this landmark event to our list of culture-influencing matches.”
The Ryan Garcia vs. Gervonta Davis match will take place in 2023 with a date and venue set at a later date.
Together with SHOWTIME, DAZN Executive Vice President Joseph Markowski, He tweeted on ThursdayAs we’ve always said, DAZN will look to air boxing’s biggest fights. We’ve worked tirelessly with our friends at Golden Boy, Showtime and Team Davis on a deal structure that works for all parties for Gervontaa xRyanGarcia. Everyone at DAZNBoxing is delighted that an agreement in principle has been reached. between the parties. This agreement is subject to a contract not yet exchanged.”
This last part is like the fine print in the decade you missed because the letters are so small. The fight was agreed upon, but pen was not put to paper to be formally signed. This is always a concern as Terrence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. “agreed” to fight, and it broke down before they could get to the signing stage. We also saw the same thing with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua over a year ago.
The second half of the press release is a quote from Golden Boy Promotions Chairman and CEO, Oscar De La Hoya. He said, “Fans have been pretty clear that the fight they want is Ryan vs. Tank. Golden Boy Promotions and I are proud to have led the campaign to sign this fight and are excited to close the deal as quickly as possible. It is time for those outside the ring to stop blocking those who want nothing more than to get in the ring and fight. Our motto has always been for the fans to come first, and this is just another example of how we lead by example.” Ok, is the deal not signed? It was a bit contradictory to what was reported by multiple platforms.
Then, hours later, De La Hoya decided to follow his Instagram Stories to connect with fans about the news. When a fan asks, “Are you as excited as we are!!” “Golden boy” De La Hoya replied, “I’ll be excited when we sign the contract. My job is to look for my fighters.” This leads me to believe that there is still some work to be done towards this end.
But there’s more, Davis announced that he will be fighting on January 7th in Washington, D.C. against an opponent to be announced shortly. Battles that get caught before a super match tend to spoil even the best laid plans. I’m not saying it’s going to happen here, but with boxing, you never know. Davis also has a tryout for Hit & Run that was postponed in the past and was scheduled for December 12 but is now scheduled for February 16, according to Boxing Scene’s Keith Idec. After refusing a plea agreement to serve house arrest as punishment, this case will go to trial, and who knows how.
The hurdles are great getting to a point where Garcia meets Davis in the middle of the ring. One can only hope that everything gets worked out and that we get this massive fight in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2023. But if we do, hold your seats, the world will be tuned in to this place because it’s a 50/50 actual fight , and no one will be able to pick a winner before the fight has finally begun.
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