Representatives for Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia are inching toward a deal for the undefeated rivals to square off in a 136-pound fight at some point in January.
According to a report Monday night from Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix, pay-per-view distribution is the significant obstacle that has prevented Davis and Garcia from finalizing their agreement.
BoxingScene.com has confirmed, as Mannix reported, that Davis’ handlers, Premier Boxing Champions’ Al Haymon, Floyd Mayweather and Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe, want Showtime to be the sole distributor of their pay-per-view main event in the United States. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Eric Gomez and founder Oscar De La Hoya, which represent Garcia, have pushed for DAZN to be a co-distributor, along with Showtime, of Davis-Garcia in the U.S., where the bulk of the pay-per-view revenue from the event will originate.
Showtime has televised Davis’ past 11 fights either live on the network or on pay-per-view. DAZN has streamed seven consecutive Garcia bouts, but none of those fights have headlined pay-per-view shows.
Paramount Global, which owns BoxingScene.com, also is the parent company of Showtime. Mannix, in addition to his work for Sports Illustrated, has long been part of DAZN’s broadcast team in the U.S.
Despite the aforementioned impediment related to pay-per-view distribution, Baltimore’s Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) and Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs), of Victorville, California, have traded insults on social media and appear eager to settle their differences in the ring.
Davis, a talented knockout artist who will turn 28 on November 7, wants to silence skeptics who’ve constantly criticized his level of opposition by beating Garcia. The 24-year-old Garcia, like most opponents, is taller than Davis and has fast hands and power, yet he would encounter the most dangerous opponent of his career if he faces Davis next.
Whomever Davis fights next, he is due in a Baltimore courtroom December 12 for what figures to be a two-day trial related to misdemeanor motor vehicle violations Davis allegedly committed in November 2020 in his hometown. Davis has been charged with 14 traffic violations stemming from a hit-and-run incident.
If handlers for Davis and Garcia, as well as network and streaming service executives, can come to a distribution solution acceptable to both sides, Davis-Garcia very likely would do robust business on pay-per-view in the United States. An agreement would also come at an opportune time when frustrated fans are still disappointed by Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford failing to finalize contracts for their long-anticipated welterweight title unification fight following prolonged negotiations.
Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs) announced a deal Thursday night to make a voluntary defense of his WBO 147-pound championship against Russia’s David Avanesyan (29-3-1, 17 KOs) on December 10 at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska, Crawford’s hometown. Spence (28-0, 22 KOs), of DeSoto, Texas, also will face someone other than Crawford next, rather than the IBF/WBA/WBC welterweight champ waiting for the outcome of the Crawford-Avanesyan bout.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.