Gervonta Davis vs Ryan García, the match that won’t have a belt up for grabs but that nobody wants to miss in Las Vegas

It is often believed that the interest generated by a fight is given by the title that is put into play. The youtuber turned boxer jake paul seems to have thrown that idea overboard. This Saturday, after years of waiting and without a contested belttwo men will call a crowd in Vegas and millions across the screens: Gervonta Davis AND Ryan Garcia They will be the protagonists of one of the most attractive fights that boxing has to offer these days. The night can be watched on ESPN and the Star+ platform from 9pm.

when the charismatic Jimmy Lennon Jr. invite contenders into the ring at the T-Mobile Arena, you’ll have reached your last station a journey that many times seemed doomed to failure. The negotiations to reach the definitive agreement were very tough, above all because the representatives of the bitter rival corporations had to sit down at the table: on the one hand, Golden Boypromoter of Garcia, e DAZN, the platform with which the Californian has an agreement; on the other, Premier Boxing Champions, which manages Davis’ interests, and show timethe network that broadcasts his fights.

“It was like Coca-Cola had to work with Pepsi”summed up Stephen Espinoza, president of show sports, after the signing of the contracts and the overcoming of the last point of contention, linked to the rematch clause (which only Davis will be able to use in case of defeat). “Gervonta and Ryan wanted this fight and didn’t want anyone to leave until it was over. That pressure really helped us sort out all the problems” Espinoza explained.

Beyond minor details, such as the order in which they will climb the rope (García will do it first), another aspect that generated heated debate before the definition was the weight of the contenders: finally it was agreed that the border at the time of stepping on the scales on Friday was £136 (61,690 pounds), one more than the lightweight division limit. But in the contract a 10lb rehydration clause was included: on Saturday they have to weigh themselves again e neither will be able to exceed 146 kilos (66,225 kilos).

The expectation that the match generates is not a consequence of the soap opera that preceded it, but of the protagonists who will play it: two extremely convenient young boxers who warmed up the previous one over a low flame and who on Monday, during an Instagram live which was followed from 188,000 people, they argued, insulted each other and agreed on an all-or-nothing bet: the winner would get to keep the million dollar purses of both.

First, the favorite is southpaw Davis, 28 years oldformer super feather and super lightweight champion, and is currently entrenched in the lightweight division: he is the regular champion of the World Boxing Association, which recognizes Devin Haney as super champion, also owner of belts from the World Boxing Council, the International Boxing Federation and of the World Boxing Organization (he will exhibit the four belts on May 20 against the Ukrainian Vasiliy Lomachenko).

Sponsored by Floyd Mayweatherwho was also its promoter from 2015 until last year, Tank (nickname he wore since he was a child due to the size of his head) has built a superstar career thanks to a style that combines showmanship and power: his immaculate record of 28 victories includes 26 categorical definitions. One of those who can prove that the Baltimore-born boxer punches like he’s carrying pebbles in his gloves is Jesús Marcelo Andrés Cuellar, from Buenos Aires, who capitulated to him in the third round in April 2018 after visiting the canvas three times.

The electricity that runs through a ring whenever Davis steps on it has led to their presentations in different parts of the United States often being sold out, as happened at the Capital One Arena in Washington (with a capacity of 20,000) in January of this year, when he eliminated the Dominican Héctor Luis García . The same will happen this Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena.

If Davis draws stadium crowds made up mostly of traditional boxing crowds, The strength of Ryan García’s massiveness lies in the very young fans who rely on social networks: His Instagram account has 9.5 million followers. In any case, the 24-year-old Californian declares to anyone who wants to listen that his popularity is not a vaporous phenomenon, but the consequence of his boxing qualities.

king ry, who started boxing at the age of 7 and made his professional debut two months before he turned 18 (thus forgoing the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro), won his 23 fights (19 before limit) and was interim WBC lightweight champion. However, his journey into performance sports has not been a bed of roses.

In April 2021 he announced that he would not fight the Dominican Javier Fortuna on July 9, as agreed. “Right now, it’s important to take care of my health and well-being,” she said at the time. Details came nearly a year later. “Eventually. I got into bad habits, started drinking, got drunk every day. At some point, I wanted to end my life. When I was in the depths of my depression, I didn’t believe I would still be alive. I’ve come to think it was better not to be here,” he said in February last year, when he was preparing to return after also overcoming a broken right wrist.

Since then, it has surpassed the Ghanaian Emanuel Tagus and eliminated the Dominican Fortuna in the sixth episode in bouts framed in the super lightweight category. Although he has announced that his plan was to stay at 140 pounds, now he must reduce his size to face the most demanding and lucrative commitment of his career.

Garcia’s chances will be based on his speed and his left hook, his best shot. Although the Californian could take advantage of his greater height (1.78 meters versus 1.66) and mass, Davis is used to facing and beating men bigger than him. Also, we’ll have to see how Ryan’s jaw responds to his opponent’s mandarinazos. As an inauspicious precedent (which Tank was tasked with facing him in the evening’s introductory conferences), was knocked down by Britain’s Luke Campbell, a man without much punch, before defeating him in January 2021.