Here’s a bit more background on tonight’s main event:Ĭall it boxing’s first Gen-Z megafight, borne from a protracted feud that’s largely unfolded on social media over two years and leaning into a future where followers are listed on the tale of the tape alongside height, weight and reach.īut it’s also a credible throwback to a time when the best went across the street to fight the best regardless of promotional affiliation, rather than handpicking inferior opponents to inflate their win-loss ledger. Tonight’s winner goes forward with his perfect record intact as the face of boxing in America – with all the benefits, bragging rights and earning potential that entails. No titles are on the line in tonight’s scheduled 12-round bout, which is taking place at a catchweight of 136lbs, but the stakes could hardly be higher. We’re inside the T-Mobile Arena for an eagerly awaited showdown between the two most popular boxers in the United States today: a pair of undefeated knockout merchants early in their primes, represented by different companies and broadcasters, all of whom have put aside their differences to make the fight the people have wanted for years. Hello and welcome to Las Vegas for tonight’s fight between Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia. If that’s the uncomfortable moral bargain that was necessary to get these bitter rivals into the ring together, it’s one that most boxing fans would leap at. Of course Davis is hardly the first boxer who has been licensed to fight with a serious criminal case and potential incarceration hanging over his head. After the judge overseeing the case rejected a plea deal that would have allowed him to serve 60 days of unsupervised home detention, Davis faces the real prospect of jail time at his sentencing on 5 May. bubble of impunity was finally punctured last month when he pleaded guilty in a Baltimore circuit court to four counts stemming from a hit-and-run crash in November 2020 which left four people hospitalized, including a pregnant woman. But the 28-year-old Baltimore native faces the real prospect of jail time at a sentencing hearing less than two weeks today. That dizzying ascent and shimmering brilliance has been enough to relegate a disturbing pattern of allegations – that he is a violent, unrepentant domestic abuser – to the margins of his narrative. Davis has moved the needle like few other American boxers in recent memory, winning belts at 126lbs, 130lbs and 135lbs while selling out arenas from coast to coast.

It wouldn’t be boxing if there weren’t at least a few uncomfortable underpinnings. You’ve got to give it the same attention because, before you know it, you could fall into a very bad place.” If you don’t, it bottles up inside and you end up making bad decisions. You’ve seen boxers act out and make bad decisions because they haven’t addressed their mental health issues. “The more you hold it in, the more you’re going to act out.

So I think I helped other fighters become more open in speaking about their mental health issues.”ĭoes talking about doubt and depression help García himself? “Of course – while always paying attention to myself every day and making sure that I’m keeping in balance. “We need to care for our fighters, especially the ones that are entertaining all of us. García looks intently at the screen, his hands making fluttery shapes in front of the inky tattoos on his chest as he talks with fluidity and fire. We’re not supposed to be doing this so it’s going to cause some mental health issues.” “Of course you’re going to experience some mental health issues and that needs to be addressed way more. “We’re going into a ring in front of millions of people, putting our reputations on the line, and getting hit in the head,” García says quietly. It is to García’s immense credit that, on the cusp of the defining fight of his life, he does not shy away from confronting the ghosts of his and Davis’s past and explains why they often struggle with depression. The 24-year-old from Los Angeles, who has more 9.6m Instagram followers with 5.3m more on TikTok, opened up about his life in the glare of social media and the struggles with mental health that surfaced immediately following the signature win of his career to date. Our Donald McRae spoke at length with Garcia ahead of tonight’s fight.

Tank boxer vs garcia