Ryan Garcia (23-1, 19 KOs) revealed post-fight that he felt “weak” inside the ring from the effects of the 10-lb rehydration clause and 136-lb catchweight for his fight against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) last Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
While Ryan isn’t blaming his seventh round KO loss to Tank Davis on him feeling weak from the weight stipulations, it’s hard not to look at the accumulative effects of those two things as the culprit for why he got beaten.
Ryan took a knee in the seventh round after getting hit to the body by Tank Davis. Although Ryan wanted to get up, he couldn’t and was counted out at 1:44 by referee Thomas Taylor. Unfortunately, Ryan had been knocked down in the second round and couldn’t take Tank’s power.
After the fight, Ryan said he’d be moving up to 140 to campaign in that weight class against the top fighters. It could prove even more difficult for Ryan to enjoy success in this weight division because they hit harder, bigger and are more dangerous than Tank Davis.
If Ryan can’t take little 5’5″ Tank Davis’ power, he’s not going to be able to stand up to the power of light welterweight champion Subriel Matias or Regis Prograis.
“I got in with one of the best, but I’ll feel much stronger at 140,” said Ryan Garcia at the post-fight press conference after his loss to Tank Davis on Saturday night.
“I’m going to go up and fight the top fighters at 140, and that’s what I plan to do. In my honest perception of it, I didn’t feel too good. I felt a little weak going into the ring. My legs didn’t feel like they were under me. I signed the contract, and that’s that,” said Ryan when asked how the 10-lb rehydration clause impacted his performance against Gervonta.
“I feel like I’m still a big attraction in the sport, and I feel moving up to 140, whoever I fight is going to be big. It’s going to be exciting to see where our careers go.
“He’s [Gervonta] going to do great things at 135, and I plan on moving up to 140 and do my thing.
“I pretty much told him that he’s a good man, he’s good at heart for sure, and I didn’t want him to think that I felt any way towards him. It’s all business. We sold the fight great and it’s nothing personal. We’re going to be cool,” said Ryan when asked what he said to Tank Davis after the fight.