Ryan Garcia says Tank Davis and Mayweather Promotions needs him for mega-fight

By Rob Smith - 11/24/2020 - Comments

Ryan ‘Kingry’ Garcia says Mayweather promotions and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis both need him to get that mega-fight that they want to make a lot of money.

The 22-year-old Garcia (20-0, 17 KOs) believes he’s the name guy that unbeaten WBA lightweight champion Tank Davis (24-0, 23 KOs) must fight to sell a massive pay-per-view in 2021.

Davis recently fought WBA super featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz on Showtime pay-per-view last month on October 31, but the fight failed to bring in the massive numbers that some had hoped it would.

Besides Santa Cruz being viewed as on the downside of his career, boxing fans felt that the fight was a mismatch, which is what it ultimately turned out to be. Tank knocked Santa Cruz out cold in the sixth round, and many fans said afterward, ‘I told you so.’

Garcia and Tank could be a huge fight in 2021. However, Ryan still needs to get past Luke Campbell (20-3, 16 KOs) on January 2nd before his promoters at Golden Boy Promotions can start looking to negotiate a deal with Mayweather Promotions.

Ryan Garcia says Tank Davis and Mayweather Promotions needs him for mega-fight

Mayweather Promotions needs Ryan Garcia

“They need me, whether they like it or not, to have that mega-Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fight,” said Ryan Garcia when asked what his thoughts are when he hears promoters Bob Arum and Floyd Mayweather Jr mentioning his name.

“There’s no way you’re going to get that type of fight without me. I’m the key. They can say they’re the A-side, and Tank can say that I’m having a viral fight for the first time.

“My knockout of [Francisco] Fonseca, if you look at my numbers, they’re way better by a long shot. I respect him, though. That’s why I like Gervonta. He’s something special to me.

“The only way you do that is if there’s a specialness to you, and that’s why I give credit where credit is due. Gervonta is a special fighter. It’s the setting that he does when he steps into that ring where it’s amazing, and that’s what happens.

“That’s how the world blesses you. I’m going in there to dominate. I don’t care about Gervonta. I’m saying a lot because we’ve been talking about me and Gervonta if we handle our business.

“But I’m focused on Luke Campbell. I hear people say, ‘Why aren’t you focused?’ I train hard every fight. I take every fight seriously. I’m in camp; I’m zoned in. I don’t care who it is.

Ryan Garcia says Tank Davis and Mayweather Promotions needs him for mega-fight

“I could be fighting a real bum, and I would take it seriously. That’s why when people say, ‘You’re overlooking him.’ I’m not. I train hard for everyone.

“Floyd is all about money with low-risk, high reward,” Ryan said of Mayweather. “So he makes sure he’s the A-side in a fight that he knows he’s going to win, and then he makes a lot of money. I’m not mad at that, and that’s what Tank’s going to do,” said Ryan Garcia.

Mayweather Promotions seems to be interested in letting Tank face Ryan, which is nice because they showed no desire in the past to let Davis face Vasily Lomachenko.

For Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe to be intrigued by the idea of Tank taking on the unbeaten Ryan, it suggests that he believes that his fighter will win.

If he thought there was any chance of Tank losing, we’d likely see him avoiding the fight in the same way he seemingly did with Lomachenko.

King Ryan compares himself to Roy Jones Jr.

“My left hook comes out of nowhere,” said Garcia. “It’s something I’ve been blessed with. God blessed me with a left hook, and I’ve been able to use it since I was young just like I’m using it now,” said Ryan Garcia.

Ryan Garcia says Tank Davis and Mayweather Promotions needs him for mega-fight

“With Canelo and Eddy, that’s where I feel like I’m gaining all of it. I’m very calm in the ring, and I’m very defensive sound now, and I still got those blazing fast hands.

“I think I’m more comparable to Roy Jones Jr in a way, but not so much like Oscar. Osar was very tight with his guard, and he liked to shoot off combinations. I like to do it too, but I like to land clean shots.

“I hate when I land barely. I see a lot of fighters throwing combinations, but they’re not landing clean. I like to throw a shot where I find my spot just like Floyd. Floyd would land clean shots. If you watch his fights, they’re all clean,” said Garcia.

Ryan does have a left hook that he throws like Roy Jones Jr, but his punch is a lot more devastating. Roy wasn’t a one-punch knockout artist the way that Ryan has shown himself to be at 135.

The way that King Ryan is overreliant on his left hook to knock out his opponents, his fighting style is a lot more like former heavyweight contender Donovan ‘Razor’ Ruddock; if you look at Ruddock’s old fights, you can see see the similarities with him and Ryan Garcia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Isrn-72dZIw

Ruddock was more willing to use his right hand than Ryan, but his left hook was still his main weapon. If Ryan will have a chance to beat Tank Davis, he’s going to need a right hand because he’s too one-dimensional right now.

Ryan is vastly different from Roy Jones Jr with his fighting style, and he’s never going to be that kind of talent. Jones was faster and had a lot more facets to his game.

Garcia won’t let himself get hit repeatedly

“I love when my competition does something amazing because every time I step in the ring, I always look to do something amazing,” Garcia said.

Ryan Garcia says Tank Davis and Mayweather Promotions needs him for mega-fight

“So I was really excited when Gervonta knocked out Leo Santa Cruz with that obliterating uppercut, that telegraphed uppercut that he landed on Santa Cruz.

“But it was a great shot, and that’s something that gets my juices pumping and gets me. That’s why I go out and Tweet because I’m all part of the entertainment.

“I’m part of the show. So when I tweet like that, I’m out there trying to hype this fight up,” Ryan Garcia said about his fight against Gervonta Davis.

“So when it does happen, it’ll be even more fun to watch. Everybody is going to be adrenalin pumping before that bell rings. That’s what I want to give to the fans.

“Well, he was literally showing him the uppercut the whole fight,” said Garcia when asked why he called Tank’s knockout of Santa Cruz a “telegraphed” shot. “Leo, I don’t know why he didn’t make an adjustment to it.

“I feel like when I get hit with one good shot, I’m going to watch out for it and make little adjustments here and there not to get hit with the same shot over and over again.

“But he [Santa Cruz] didn’t, and that’s the price that he had to pay,” said Garcia.

It’s good that Ryan adapts after he gets hit because if Tank starts nailing him with big shots, he won’t last long if he gets hit with repeated power shots.

In Tank’s knockout of Santa Cruz, he was looking to land his uppercut the entire fight; Santa Cruz obviously knew he was trying to set him up with the shot, and yet he was still hit with it.

Ryan Garcia says Tank Davis and Mayweather Promotions needs him for mega-fight

Ryan can’t let Davis hit him with a similar shot, or else he’ll end up like Santa Cruz.