Boxing

Ryan Garcia Snubs Gervonta Davis With Hardest Punching Opponent Answer

Ryan Garcia snubbed Gervonta "Tank" Davis with his answer to this boxing question.
Grant Young|
Gervonta "Tank" Davis and Ryan Garcia argue as they address the media on March 9, 2023.
Gervonta "Tank" Davis and Ryan Garcia argue as they address the media on March 9, 2023. | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Gervonta Davis and "King" Ryan Garcia, who are two of America's most popular boxers, met in the ring on April 22, 2023 for the WBA (Regular) and WBC interim lightweight titles.

Entering this highly anticipated fight, Davis had a 28-0 record with 26 KOs, and Garcia was 23-0 with 19 KOs. Garcia is the bigger fighter and had to lose a significant amount of weight for the fight, which was magnified by a controversial rehydration clause in the bout agreement, which meant that neither fighter could weigh more than 10 pounds above what they weighed in at (135.5 for Garcia) when they entered the ring.

The fight outcome was not controversial, as Davis got a TKO win over Garcia because of a body shot in the seventh round.

The world will never know how this fight might have been different if there hadn't been a rehydration clause, which most likely would have allowed Garcia to absorb Davis' punches better. However, what's for sure is that Garcia doesn't think Davis is the hardest puncher he has ever faced, which he revealed in a March 19 interview on the Ring Champs with Ak & Barak podcast.

"[Oscar] Duarte,” Garcia said when asked who the hardest puncher he has ever faced was. Garcia faced Duarte in his first fight after facing Davis. While he was losing for much of the fight, Garcia ultimately stopped Duarte in the later rounds.

When asked why Duarte, Garcia said,“Well, he is the only one who ever cut my eye, when he hit me with an uppercut in the clinch."

The obvious answer to this would have been Davis, considering he's the only fighter who has beaten Garcia. This is why we imagine Davis won't love hearing this answer from Garcia.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.