It was the same reoccurring dream for Ryan Garcia. Whenever he laid his head at night and tucked himself in, Garcia saw the carcass of Gervonta Davis lying at his feet. His tattooed body remained motionless as a roaring crowd stood on its feet, half applauding Garcia while the other half placed their hands over their mouths in disbelief.
Sure it was only a dream but Garcia believed it was more than just that. The 25-year-old was convinced that it was a premonition, a sign of what was to come. For years Garcia did his best to poke the bear. He continually called Davis out and wouldn’t let up until he was finally given his wish.
Davis, by and large, wasn’t interested in facing him. He claimed that Garcia was nothing more than a “baby” and not worthy of his time. But as the trash talk got louder and bolder, Davis took him up on his offer.
This past April, Garcia got his man in the ring. However, in order to seal the deal during contract negotiations, Garcia (23-1, 19 KOs) agreed to fight Davis at a catchweight of 136 pounds. He also signed off on a 10-pound rehydration clause.
The California native believed that it was all innocuous icing. It wasn’t what he wanted, but in order to get Davis to fight him, Garcia was willing to do just about anything. As he looks back on his decision, he regrets not holding his ground and demanding that Team Davis remove certain terms from their deal.
Losing is something that Garcia is trying to get accustomed to. Even with a seventh-round stoppage loss now saddled to his record, he isn’t willing to say that the Baltimore native is a better fighter than he is.
“I feel like under different circumstances I could beat him,” Garcia told a group of reporters.
Garcia hasn’t said much since his defeat. Simply put, he didn’t want to take away from Davis’ moment. For now, the popular star is focusing on his comeback fight against Oscar Duarte in December.
But while he’s doing his best to give Duarte all of his attention, media members kept their discussions on Davis recently. When asked to explain how the rehydration addendum affected him, Garcia flipped the script and went from interviewee to interview.
“Can you do an interview dehydrated? Imagine boxing.”