LAS VEGAS – Ryan Garcia hopes he can eventually earn another shot at Gervonta Davis.
The 24-year-old Garcia recognizes, of course, that he’ll have to rebuild his career if a rematch versus Davis is ever to become a realistic possibility. But he feels like he hurt Davis during the second round and would have a chance to win their second encounter if he were to remain focused against a dangerous, disciplined counterpuncher who made Garcia pay for his impatience Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
“It was a great fight,” Garcia said of his seventh-round knockout loss during his post-fight press conference. “I hope to get a rematch one day. Obviously, I’ve gotta pile up some wins and hopefully we’ll meet down the line again. And that’s that.”
Garcia (23-1, 19 KOs) plans to return to the 140-pound division for his next fight, which he suggested could take place as soon as three months from now. Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) will continue to compete at the lightweight limit of 135 pounds.
They fought at a catch weight of 136 pounds, which required Garcia to drop down four pounds from what he officially weighed for his previous fight, a sixth-round knockout of Dominican southpaw Javier Fortuna last July 16 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Davis dropped Garcia twice, once in the second round and again in the seventh round.
Garcia got up quickly from Davis’ short left hand, which sent him to the seat of his trunks with 1:01 to go in the second round. He couldn’t beat referee Thomas Taylor’s count after Davis drilled him with a left to the body that caused a delayed reaction and made him take a knee with 1:30 remaining in the seventh round.
Garcia, of Victorville, California, expressed respect for Baltimore’s Davis both as a boxer and a person after Davis defeated him. Davis’ rival said none of the trash talk they’ve exchanged over the past few years, particularly recently during the promotion of this Showtime Pay-Per-View main event, was personal in nature.
Davis and Garcia hugged and posed for photos during their post-fight press conference. Davis also made a point of hugging Garcia’s mom, Lisa, who spoke into his ear before they left the stage.
“I pretty much told him he’s a good man,” Ryan Garcia said. “He’s good at heart, for sure. And I just didn’t want him to think that I felt any way towards him. It’s all business. We sold the fight great and it was nothing personal. And we’re gonna be cool, you know? We’re gonna be cool.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.