LAS VEGAS – One weigh-in down for Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia, one more to go.
Davis and Garcia both came in below their much-discussed contracted catch weight of 136 pounds Friday afternoon for their high-profile 12-round fight Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena. Baltimore’s Davis stepped on the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s scale at 135¼ pounds, whereas Garcia got on it only slightly heavier, at 135½ pounds.
Davis and Garcia jawed at each other on stage until Davis lightly pushed Garcia and they were separated.
Both boxers must now come in at 146 pounds or less at a second-day weigh-in scheduled for 11 a.m. PDT on Saturday morning. Unlike their weigh-in Friday, which drew a large crowd outside of T-Mobile Arena, their second weigh-in won’t be open to the public.
The results of it will draw interest, however, because the second weigh-in for their non-title fight is considered an advantage for Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) because Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs) won’t be able to put on as much weight immediately after their weigh-in Friday as he would have preferred. Garcia agreed to the catch weight and rehydration restrictions because he desperately wanted to face Davis in what is by far the biggest fight of his career.
The 24-year-old Garcia, of Victorville, California, officially weighed 140 pounds for his last fight, a sixth-round knockout of the Dominican Republic’s Javier Fortuna (37-4-1, 26 KOs, 2 NC) on July 16 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
The 28-year-old Davis fought at the 140-pound limit once, when he knocked out former WBA super lightweight champ Mario Barrios (27-2, 18 KOs) in the 11th round of their June 2021 bout at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Each of Davis’ three fights thereafter were contested at the lightweight limit of 135 pounds, though.
The official weights for the Davis-Garcia undercard bouts are listed below.
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David Morrell Jr. (8-0, 7 KOs), Santa Clara, Cuba, 167¾ pounds vs. Yamaguchi Falcao (24-1-1, 10 KOs, 1 NC), Serra, Brazil, 166½ pounds, 12 rounds for Morrell’s WBA world super middleweight title.
Bektemir Melikuziev (11-1, 9 KOs), Shoimbek, Uzbekistan, 167¼ pounds vs. Gabe Rosado (26-16-1, 15 KOs, 1 NC), Philadelphia, 167¼ pounds, 10 rounds, super middleweights.
Elijah Garcia (14-0, 12 KOs), Wittmann, Arizona, 159¼ pounds vs. Kevin Salgado (15-1-1, 10 KOs), Mexico City, 159¼ pounds, 10 rounds, middleweights.
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Fiodor Czerkaszyn (21-0, 13 KOs), Warsaw, Poland, 159¼ pounds vs. Elias Espadas (22-5, 15 KOs), Merida, Mexico, 158¾ pounds, 10 rounds, middleweights.
Vito Mielnicki Jr. (14-1, 9 KOs), Roseland, New Jersey, 153¼ pounds vs. Jose Sanchez Charles (20-3-1, 12 KOs), Reynosa, Mexico, 154¼ pounds, 10 rounds, junior middleweights.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.