Oscar De La Hoya has shot down the rumors of Golden Boy Promotions looking to put together a potential fight with WBC light welterweight champion Regis Progais in the event the mega-fight with Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis fails to transpire due to the rematch clause dispute with PBC/Showtime.
It makes sense for De La Hoya to want to stick it out in the negotiations with Tank Davis because even if they give in and allow PBC/Showtime to be in charge of the rematch, which will likely never happen anyway, the money that will be made for that fight is far more than Ryan would get facing the less popular WBC 140-lb champion Regis Prograis.
Ryan is a good fighter, but he would stand even less chance of defeating Prograis (28-1, 24 KOs) than Tank Davis because he’s bigger and stronger. He has far better boxing skills than the former Mayweather Promotions fighter.
If this is Ryan’s one big shot at a huge money fight in his career, it makes sense that he’d stick it out until the bitter end with Tank rather than abandoning negotiations over the rematch clause.
Again, the chances of Ryan winning the fight and using the rematch clause are pretty slim, so it doesn’t make sense for him to give up on the Tank match.
Look at it this way. With the Tank fight going up in smoke, Ryan would be like a tiny minnow in a sea of vicious sharks at 140, and he’s not going to last long once he starts tangling with fighters like Prograis, Gary Antuanne Russell, Richardson Hitchins, Arnold Barboza, Jose Ramirez, Alberto Puello, and Liam Paro.
Contrary to rumors and reports @GoldenBoyBoxing is 100% trying to finalize #tankgarcia although @RPrograis fight with Ryan is very intriguing, we are focused on taking the #tankgarcia fight to the finish line.
— Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) February 9, 2023
For Tank not to be speaking up on social media about the rematch dispute, he’s either confident that Ryan’s side will give in, as they’ve done on everything else, or he’s indifferent about the fight.
It wouldn’t be the end of the world for Tank Davis if the fight with Ryan Garcia doesn’t get made because PBC can keep matching him against the same type of opposition that they’ve been doing, and he won’t have to worry about losing for a long, long time.
As long as they steer the Tank Davis around the jagged rocks that present themselves in the form of Shakur Stevenson, Devin Haney, Vasyl Lomachenko, and Frank Martin, he’ll be good for another five years without losing.