The highly unlikely clash between Conor Benn and Gervonta Davis has officially fallen through the cracks.
Benn’s promoter Eddie Hearn informed the boxing public on Monday that Davis punted on an offer that was presented.
In recent weeks, Tank has teased a tilt with the second-generation British star. With Davis now out of the picture, former two-division champion Danny Garcia has stepped up to the plate and called out Benn for a potential clash.
“I would love to fight him at 154,” Garcia told YSM Sports Media. “That makes great sense. He wants to fight a big name. Garcia vs. Benn. There ain’t no bigger fight than fighting Danny Garcia. So, I would love that fight.
“Stylistically, that’s a great fight for me, and that’s a fight that I would love at 154, not at 147. They already know what time it is. I don’t duck no smoke. I’m about to change my middle name from ‘Swift’ to ‘Smoke.’”
Garcia (37-3, 21 KOs) said he’d even be open to fighting Benn (23-0, 14 KOs) in the United Kingdom once Benn is cleared to fight on home soil once his ongoing performance-enhancing drug ordeal is settled.
Benn’s last two wins have taken place in the United States.
“If the price is right, I would go anywhere [to fight Benn],” said Garcia. “I watched [the Dobson fight]. I thought he did good. [Dobson] was gritty, though. He fought, he had skills.”
Garcia, a 35-year-old fighter from Philadelphia, has been mostly inactive in recent years, having fought just once since losing to Errol Spence Jr. in 2020.
Garcia beat Jose Benavidez Jr. via majority decision in July 2022. Following the victory, a tearful Garcia opened up to share that he’d been struggling with mental health issues.
The bout marked Garcia’s first at super welterweight after beating the likes of Erik Morales (twice), Amir Khan, Zab Judah, Lucas Matthysse, Lamont Peterson, Paul Malignaggi, Robert Guerrero, and Brandon Rios across 140 and 147 pounds.
Garcia – who considered himself a Hall of Fame fighter even before facing Spence – also has narrow decision losses to Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter.
Benn has been a career-long welterweight but has fought above 147 pounds in his last two fights.
Benn beat Dobson at a 150-pound catchweight and Rodolfo Orozco at 154 pounds before that in September.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.