Ryan Garcia again laughed off Gervonta Davis’ insistence that Garcia’s signature punch, his left hook, is his only weapon worth worrying about.
Garcia reiterated Tuesday during his open workout at the Maloof mansion in Beverly Hills, California that there are various ways he can conquer Davis in their 12-round, 136-pound showdown April 22 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The former WBC interim lightweight champion informed announcer Ray Flores that Davis’ public focus on his left hook is an indication that the unbeaten Baltimore native is truly concerned about Garcia’s most dangerous punch.
“He’s gonna go nap time,” Garcia told Flores. “Nap time with either the right or the left, so it doesn’t matter. I think he’s just terrified of the left hook. I think, you know, once he hears that in his dreams, he starts shaking in his boots. So, that’s one trigger word for him. He doesn’t know that’s a trigger for him, but it is. ‘Left hook,’ he probably starts getting amped up right when he hears that. … Left hook, he gets terrified of that.”
All three of the knockdowns Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs) recorded in his last fight were caused by left hooks.
The Victorville, California native first sent another shorter southpaw, Javier Fortuna, to the canvas with a left hook to the body in the fourth round. A left hook up top dropped Fortuna in the fifth round and Garcia finished Fortuna (37-4-1, 26 KOs, 2 NC) with a right-left combination in the sixth round last July 16 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Baltimore’s Davis downplayed the rest of Garcia’s game during their press conference March 9 at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills.
“You only have one hook,” Davis repeatedly told Garcia when Garcia spoke at the microphone. “You’re not a complete fighter. You’re not a complete fighter. You don’t got no footwork. You don’t got no IQ. You don’t got nothing, bro, but a left hook. All you got is a left hook. That’s all you got. That’s all. That’s all. That’s all. That’s all. That’s all. That’s all. That’s all. That’s all. You said hook. What else? What else? What else but a hook? What else but a hook? What else? The right hand ain’t sh!t. The right hand ain’t sh!t. You only got a left hook. You only got a left hook. That’s it.”
The 28-year-old Davis predicted when it was his turn to speak that Garcia’s promoters, Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins, and his trainer, Joe Goossen, would have to “pick you up” off the canvas.
The left-handed Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) is listed as more than a 2-1 favorite versus Garcia by most sportsbooks. Their non-title bout will headline a four-fight Showtime Pay-Per-View event (8 p.m. ET; $84.99).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.