By: Sean Crose
“It was fun while it lasted,” Gervonta Davis told the assembled media after his stunning and brilliant seventh round knockout of Ryan Garcia. “I enjoyed every moment of it.” Surprisingly enough, Davis made it clear that there was no bad blood between himself and Garcia, although some ill words had been shared between the two combatants in the leadup to the fight. “It’s cool,” Davis said regarding the matter. He might be soft spoken at a press conference, but Davis is ferocious in the ring. Perhaps even more importantly, however, is the fact he’s smart in the ring, as well.
“I felt like he was more anxious than me,” he said of Garcia. “You want to stay calm at all costs and you don’t want to make a bad decision.” It was that maturity that appears to have carried Davis to victory against Garcia on Saturday. Whereas Garcia became overeager at times, Davis was able to maintain his composure and perform consistently throughout the fight. When Garcia came on strong in the second, for instance, Davis simply weathered the storm, picked his shot and put his man on the mat with blinding speed, efficiency, and power. Garcia got back to his feet, but he wasn’t able to learn from his mistake. He was down and out a few rounds later.
Of course Davis had been saying for a while that Garcia simply wasn’t in the same talent pool that he was. And on Saturday, Davis proved it. He employed a brilliant strategy, Davis did. Be remaining mobile, he kept Garcia from landing his feared left hand. Davis also allowed himself to place his own shots effectively. Although some might blame a rehydration clause in the fight contract for Garcia’s being knocked out, the hard truth is that the popular Californian simply came across a better fighter. Indeed, Davis is that good.
And now the world knows it.