FUTURE SHOWDOWN TANK DAVIS VS RYAN GARCIA

Late last year, Ryan Garcia signed one of the most lucrative contracts for a boxing prospect of all time. A signal alongside his growing marketability and first round knockout in November. He is ready to start pushing his way to the top. Training alongside the sports elite and coach by Eddy Reynoso, 2019 Trainer of the Year – the youngster is in very safe hands.

On social media, we see regular displays of blistering speed and reflexes. And where his hands appear some of the fastest in the sport, it puts question marks on just how Garcia will fair in his first tough step up.

So far, he maintains a steady yet consistent rise in competition. His recent matchup against Fonseca, provided the perfect next step. Being a former opponent of the TMT superstar Gervonta Davis, could open the gateway to a 2020 mega fight. It’s a collision that has been along time coming but the last 12 months have seen it gain more momentum than ever. But whilst both seem willing and prepared to take the test, it’s one that ultimately will be decided by promoters and boxing politics.

In a career plagued by inactivity and subpar opposition, Gervonta Davis is certainly no stranger to behind the scenes issues. Entering his 7th year as a professional, he aims to put his own dent in the pound for pound rankings and now approaching his best years, we can expect The Money Team to finally start pressing the red button on their high profile lightweight missile. Fighting 3 times in 2019, Ruiz, Nunez, Gamboa and winning each by vicious knockout.

Though with a stacked division and some great fights available, the fans demand for tougher competition becomes increasingly strident. Garcia believes that 2020 showdown provides him the perfect platform to shock the world but with Davis killer instinct, power and a hard to replicate style – there are still few who would favour the Californian in the next 12 months.

Looking down the tale of the tape, King Ryan boasts the majority of advantages on paper. Where youth has little importance, his 4 inch height and 3 inch reach advantages are much more significant. Both are unbeaten with 23 and 19 fights respectively, thought Davis’ knockout ratio, as often the case, remains the underlying factor. That and the way he combines a southpaw stance with unorthodox power punching.

Interestingly in terms of amateur pedigree, the two have a combined total of over 400 fights in unpaid ranks, holding insanely similar records. In terms of weakness, some onlookers believe to have seen vulnerabilities in Gervonta’s December bout and Garcia weathering a late storm, scored a lacklustre majority decision over Carlos Morales a year ago. Though unscathed, both fighters continue their routes to greatness.

Putting things into perspective, at Garcia’s age Tank was 16-0 and moving into title contention. The next year saw him face two unbeaten opponents taking out Jose Pedraza in the 7th for the IBF title and then defending it against Liam Walsh in the U.K. With this in mind, Garcia looks to be on a similar course but a jump straight into the deep end is a huge risk.

Despite Garcia’s physical advantages and maybe even having faster hands, its hard to argue against Tank being the much more polished fighter. Whether Reynoso’s continue to build Ryan’s defence, refining his technique and uprooting any bad habits, 12 months time whereby he is calling for the fight to made could see a much more well rounded version. With echoes of Oscar’s style, appearance and sharpness, it was already make for one hell of a fight. Though stepping in right now against one of the sports hardest pound for pound punches, could be a disaster. Afterall, we’re yet to see how well the Californian takes a big punch, brawls on the inside and deals with real adversity. Realistically, Davis should be eyeing up some of the division’s top 10 or even top 5 names, in which case 2020 fights with Romero, Farmer or even childhood rival Devin Haney would be much more sensible for Garcia.

In a sport that sees elite showdowns increasingly hard to come by, it’s a refreshing sight to see 2 young superstars ready to put everything on the line. Afterall, without risk there is no reward and for these reasons the fight draws flashback to a young Canelo stepping up against the sports very best, falling short but gaining invaluable experience that would eventually see him conquer the sport. Though persistence and pressure from Ryan Garcia could bring boxing fans one of the biggest fights in the sport and a chance to rewrite history of his own. Champion vs prospect, power vs speed, the battle for the future of boxing.

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