Gervonta Davis has been on the mind of Ryan Garcia all day and all night for the better part of the past five years. After pontificating his desire to face the hard-hitting slugger for a protracted amount of time, Garcia was finally given his wish.
Judgment day has been officially slated for April 22nd, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although Davis is all that Garcia can think about, that doesn’t mean that he isn’t looking ahead. Upsetting the applecart will be a monumental task but if Garcia gets it done, he knows exactly who he wants to face next.
“Right after this we calling out Devin Haney,” said Garcia to Raw Talk Podcast. “Bring on Devin.”
Ironically enough, Garcia was once in the driver’s seat to land a showdown against Haney. In January of 2021, the 24-year-old peeled himself up off the canvas to secure a career-defining victory over Luke Campbell. In doing so, Garcia also snagged the WBC interim crown, placing him as the number one contender to Haney’s lightweight title.
Ultimately, Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs) opted against enforcing his position and would instead continue to pursue a showdown vs. Davis. Two years later, Garcia’s relentless pursuit has paid off. In Davis, Garcia finds himself up against one of the most pernicious punchers around, regardless of the weight class.
Most recently, the former multi-divisional champion out of Baltimore, Maryland, stopped a game Hector Luis Garcia dead in his tracks during their January 7th, showdown. But while Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) has established himself as one of the most violent punchers in recent memory, Haney has emerged as a technical master.
His long journey to the top of the division was eventually realized following back-to-back lopsided victories against George Kambosos Jr. Sitting atop his undisputed throne, Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) is set to defend his four world titles against Vasiliy Lomachenko on May 20th, a showdown Garcia expects him to prevail in.
More than anything, Garcia is hoping to rekindle his long standing rivalry with Haney. As two unpaid upstarts on the amateur scene, both Garcia and Haney would often meet during various tournaments. The results, ultimately, were a coin flip – as the two split six bouts.
On the outside looking in, when juxtaposing the pair, both Haney and Davis would appear to be two completely different fighters with two totally different games. Still, despite Davis and Haney going about their business in contrasting ways, both are smack-dab in the middle of their respective primes. And that, in Garcia’s view, is what’s driving him to take them on.
“That’s another prime on prime fight. Bring on Devin. I fought him six times in the amateurs. Now we need to have the seventh one.”