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BREAKING NEWS: Gervonta Davis defeats Hector Luis Garcia after a brutal eighth-round barrage that leaves the Dominican telling his corner he CAN’T SEE because he’s not coming back for the ninth round
Gervonta Davis defended his WBA world lightweight championship, beating Hector Luis Garcia by technical knockout after eight rounds, with the Dominican telling his corner “I can’t see” after enduring an eighth-round onslaught.
Garcia was unable to return for the ninth and did well to get past the eighth. Davis shrugged off a slow start to improve to 28-0 with 26 KOs and hand Garcia his first professional loss in his 17th match.
The native of Baltimore in his second hometown is scheduled to face Ryan Garcia in April in one of boxing’s most anticipated matchups of the year.
Gervonta Davis defended his WBA world lightweight championship against Héctor Luis García
Garcia told his corner that he couldn’t see and did not return for the ninth round against Davis.
Davis celebrated his victory by climbing the ropes and doing backflips across the canvas.
But first, ‘Tank’ Davis had to get past Garcia, the Dominican who said he ‘earned his place’ thanks to a solid 2022.
After the sold-out crowd of 19,731 waited until just before 1 a.m. for the start of the main event, Davis and Garcia waited a little longer to get going, starting with a couple of rounds of low events and throwing very few punches.
Davis found his rhythm in the fourth round, landing several jabs and bringing the fans to their feet.
An altercation in the stands ringside led the referee to stop the action midway through the eighth round, as Davis and Garcia were distracted by the disturbance.
The fight resumed for over a minute, and Davis put on a show until the bell, landing enough punches to end the match.
He celebrated in equally outlandish style, scaling the ropes before doing a backflip onto the canvas.
The undefeated Davis will now turn his attention to fighting Ryan Garcia in April.
It was a slow start for Davis in Washington, but he soon found his range and rhythm.
Starting in the fourth round, Davis looked his best and landed several brutal punches.
The fight headlined Showtime’s first major event at the building now known as Capital One Arena since Mike Tyson’s last fight in 2005 against Kevin McBride.
It was in danger of being canceled when Davis was arrested and charged with domestic violence in late December, before the woman who called the police posted a statement on social media days later saying Davis “didn’t hurt me or me.” nor our daughter.”
Davis said he wasn’t concerned the fight didn’t take place, saying he just wanted to clear his name.