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By Cassandra Cousineau, LVsportsBiz.com Boxing Writer
Boxing loves a spectacle.
Even more so lately with crossover events featuring YouTubers boxing aging MMA fighters. There was also the mother of all modern boxing spectacles, Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor when 45-year-old Mayweather made off with $350 million after handily defeating the UFC star.
Now the latest in spectacle fights. Saturday night in Las Vegas, Ryan “KingRy” Garcia and Gervonta “Tank” Davis enter the chat. The two will meet up in a 136-pound fight in the main event of a pay-per-view card at T-Mobile Arena.
There are no championship belts of substance on the line, and the two are fighting in a catchweight bout, not even in a recognized boxing division.
Yet, the pair of undefeated lightweights headline one of boxing’s most-anticipated bouts in a while. The 24-year-old Garcia holds a 23-0 record, including 19 wins by way of knockout. But he’ll face the toughest test of his career, taking on knockout specialist Davis, 28, who’s also undefeated (28-0, 26 knockouts).
In the absence of a title, the duo will settle the biggest social media popularity contest in all of boxing.
Garcia, a Mexican-American born in Victor Valley, California, has more than 9.5 million followers on Instagram, and over 5 million on TikTok.
Davis, a Baltimore native always has a huge celebrity row at his fights and boasts over 4 million Instagram followers of his own.
Add in the personalities of their respective promoters, and the fight has a significant amount of gravitational pull towards dollar signs. Davis was formally promoted by Mayweather. Garcia’s promotions are handled by fellow Hall of Famer, Oscar De La Hoya, founder of Golden Boy Promotions.
Both of their promoters have proclaimed this to be one of the highest grossing boxing match of all times.
It could also be one of the highest single ticket priced fights of all times. Looking at current availability, single seats at T-Mobile for as low as $597 all the way up to the tens of thousands for the nosebleed section.
The price for the PPV event on Showtime is $84.99. It’s worth noting, Canelo Álvarez, boxing’s biggest name, was last in action in May 2022. His fight against Dmitry Bivol for the WBA light heavyweight championship cost $59.99 on DAZN.
With that much money intertwined with big boxing personalities, things can get a bit heated. The lead up to Saturday night has been no exception. At the final press conference, De La Hoya’s opening statement at the microphone questioned team Davis’ belief in their fighter’s ability to win.
The 11-time world titlist criticized team Davis for a lack confidence in him, resulting in a catch weight of 136 pounds for his 12-round fight. The official weigh-in will then be followed by a rehydration restriction for a second-day weigh-in late Saturday morning.
At that time, neither Garcia nor Davis can weigh more than 146 pounds at their second weigh-in, but both boxers can add as much weight as they want from the time their second weigh-in ends until they enter the ring. Rehydration clause is especially significant for Garcia who is the naturally bigger man, standing 5’10” compared to Davis at 5’5”.
“You know, as someone who spent most of his early life in the ring, I know firsthand what it takes to compete at the highest level,” De La Hoya said during their final press conference at KA Theatre inside MGM Grand.
“And this is the highest level. I look at Ryan and I know he’s ready. I look at Ryan’s team, and they know he’s ready. I look at Tank, and he looks ready. But when I look at Tank’s team’s actions throughout the whole promotion, I am left to wonder, do they really think this guy is ready?
“Catch weights and rehydration clauses, late-afternoon weigh-ins, all of these small, petty requirements points to a team that looks to protect their fighter. And why would they protect their fighter unless they don’t think maybe he’s not ready for this moment? I really believe that Tank’s team is worried he’s going to lose. And when you’re a fighter, nothing feels worse than your team not believing in you.”
“And then you look at Ryan,” De La Hoya said, “who is so hungry, so willing, so ready for this stage, that he simply said yes to every request, no matter what it was. That is a confident fighter. That is a fighter whose team has his back. That is a fighter who is ready. And it’s why you’re going to see Ryan come out as the new face of boxing on Saturday night.”
Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions, had plenty to say in response.
“The talk is done,” Ellerbe said. “It’s go time this Saturday, biggest fight in boxing. And Oscar, those comments you made, first off, we believe in Tank a thousand percent, a thousand percent. So, when it comes to you, you have no room to talk about anything. We’ve been the ‘A’ side of this situation, and that’s how the ‘A’ side carries itself. OK?”
He then went on an expletive laced diatribe starting with. “ Like I said, you been asleep under the f—— wheel for many, many years,” Ellerbe said.
In addition to Davis and Garcia, Saturday’s fight card will feature a total of 11 fights in various weight classes including super middleweight, light middleweight, lightweight and bantamweight.
The main card starts at 8PM EST, Garcia and Davis are expected to begin their ring walk around 11pm EST.