Gervonta “Tank” Davis is the best lightweight in boxing.
It was probably true before he destroyed Ryan Garcia on Sunday. It will probably remain true even if he never fights the current undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney, who won his belts by demolishing a wildly overmatched George Kambosos. Twice.
The win over Garcia is clearly the best win on either Haney or Tank’s resume.
Indeed, Davis has never won a real belt, but that is in large part because his promotional outfit has preferred to keep him fighting their fighters prior to this fight. But it doesn’t matter – if anything, the fact that he has never won a real belt is more a testament to just how irrelevant the belts are in boxing.
Sunday’s fight went familiarly for those who have followed Davis’ career – he bided his time, and he was extraordinarily economical, barely throwing anything in the first round. But he understood exactly when it was time to explode, combining witheringly violent punching with extraordinary timing.
Heading into the fight most considered it to be basically a coin toss, but when the first bell rang it was pretty clear that this wasn’t the end of Jaws – it was the start. Davis was the shark and Garcia was Chrissie, skinny dipping joyfully before becoming a dismembered victim.
Garcia is a flashy but fundamentally unsound boxer. After a muted opening round which he clearly won, it looked as if Garcia grew bored of the pace of the fight and tried to speed it up. He came out swinging in the second round and had some success.
However, he continued to walk straight in recklessly looking to throw his expansive left hook which is much more effective on a floor-to-ceiling bag than it is on someone with exquisite timing and extraordinary power. Davis was never rattled, and it became clear from the smile that was starting to emerge on his face that he knew he had something.
With about a minute left in the second round, Garcia lunged in with another Instagram hook and Davis timed it perfectly, ducking under it and landing a thunderous left hand that sent Garcia tumbling to the canvas.
Garcia got up quickly and appeared to shake it off impressively, but it was clear after that punch landed that the deportment of the fight had changed. Davis was as he always is, patient and calm but with a violent aura. Davis always looks at home in the ring while Garcia, on the other hand, looked like a Michael Cera character – awkward and profoundly uncomfortable.
After the knockdown Garcia was tentative and hesitant, throwing only five power punches in the third round compared with the 22 he threw in the second round. In fact, for the rest of the fight, Garcia threw no more than 12 power punches in any round after the second.
That is Davis’ greatest asset. It’s not just his power, it’s the threat of his power. The threat allows him to dictate every second of the fight even when he isn’t throwing punches. Garcia had exaggerated reactions to every one of Davis’ feints and turtled up every time Davis dared to throw a combination. Prizefighters are never scared, but Davis makes them think twice before taking a step let alone throw a punch. In a world where the milliseconds count, that is more powerful than fear could ever be.
The fight retained that same look and feel from Round 3 until the end. However, Garcia finally started to throw his right hand which is typically a southpaw killer for orthodox fighters. In Round 6 and at the start of Round 7, Garcia finally began to have a modicum of success, even landing a couple of right hands on Davis’ chin. Davis however did not buckle or appear hurt at all.
Garcia began Round 7 with the most aggressive posture that he had adopted since that fateful second round. He walked forward authoritatively and started to let his right hand go. For the second time in the fight, Garcia was having some success. For the second time in the fight, Davis made him pay.
As Davis had done throughout the fight, whenever Garcia looked to throw a combination Davis clinched and smothered his work easily. Davis ducked under a Garcia hook and got inside of his chest. As they split from the clinch, Garcia threw a sweeping right hook to the head and Davis threw a short, barely perceptible, straight left hand to Garcia’s liver.
It was a microcosm of the fight. Wide versus short. Flash versus substance.
Garcia looked wobbly on his feet and dropped to his knee, looking initially as if he would get up and fight another day. However, he was unable to do so and Davis won by way of knockout. Again.
It was a fight that showed, simply, that there are levels in boxing and Garcia is plainly not at Tank Davis’ yet. Indeed, he may never get there.
In terms of what is next for the two fighters, Garcia has said that he intends to contest his next bout at 140 pounds. Given how thorough the beating was, I suspect he will be given a soft touch to help him regain some confidence.
Davis on the other hand, will be sentenced for his most recent violent crime against a woman, this time a hit and run on a pregnant woman in early May, and will return to the ring after he serves the expected jail time. It is classic boxing that the newly anointed face of the sport (though in my view it is still clearly Canelo Alvarez) will not be able to capitalise on his success publicly because of all the horrific crimes and acts of violence that he has committed against women.
In the ring, he is a more natural 135-pounder for whom I suspect 140 is too big. He will be barracking for Vasyl Lomachenko in his fight against Devin Haney on May 20 so that he can get a shot at the undisputed lightweight championship. Or perhaps Haney will win and stay at 135 pounds for a mega-fight with Tank. Haney has shown a consistent appetite for the biggest fights. If, however, Haney wins and moves up to 140 pounds as is expected, Tank will likely look to fight for whichever belt is easiest to get when they splinter.
But on this night, it is a Tank Davis coronation and confirmation yet again of the truth that defines boxing. Precision beats power, and timing beats speed. And when you have all four, you are one of the most dangerous people in the sport.
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