Jan 10, 2023 | Sports

Gervonta “Tank” Davis defeats Hector Garcia in Washington D.C.

Gervonta “Tank” Davis performing in his first fight since leaving Mayweather and TMT, was nothing different than before. Davis delivered yet another power message to the rest of his current division.

(Photo courtesy of Amanda Westcott/ Showtime)

Damarus Stephens | Voice of the Fans 

  (Washington, D.C.) – Gervonta “Tank” Davis performing in his first fight since leaving Mayweather and TMT, was nothing different than before. Davis delivered yet another power message to the rest of his current division. Some were labeling this fight a tune up to the real Garcia a.k.a Ryan Garcia. Still Hector Garcia proved to be a worthy tune-up if you want to label him as such. Garcia came into this fight undefeated as well and looking to make a name for himself. However Davis proved his power will carry him through many fighters. Davis is also great at adjusting over the course of a fight to set up his knockouts.

Many wondered if Garcia would be able to shock the world as he did earlier this year over previously unbeaten Chris Colbert. Early on Garcia “the Android” attempted to keep distance and try to catch Davis with counter shots. For most of the early rounds Davis implemented a peek-a-boo style as he tried to press into Garcia. Things began to get interesting in the 6th and 7th rounds as both fighters began to land shots. Towards the end of the 8th round Davis landed a beautiful thunderous combination doing some serious damage to his opponent. Garcia did not answer the bell at the request of his corner due to missing vision in his right eye. 19,731 piled into Washington DC’s Capital One Arena to see a “Tank” knockout but will have to settle for the T.K.O. instead. As for Davis’s next fight he is very confident that it will be Ryan Garcia and says “no more talking it’s time to fight now”.

(Photo courtesy of Amanda Westcott/ Showtime)

“A little surprised he didn’t come out. But I knew he was hurt bad but he’s a fighter and he didn’t want to show it,” said the undefeated Davis. “I knew he was hurt though.”

“When I got the shot to my head in the (eighth) final round, that’s when I couldn’t see from my eye. I didn’t know where I was when he hit me with that shot,” Garcia said. 

“My vision is back but my head still hurts. I couldn’t see from my right eye,” Garcia added.

“His southpaw style bothered me a little bit because I don’t fight a lot of southpaws but it’s okay; it’s a part of the game,” Davis added.

 “God willing I’m ready for the fight (with Ryan Garcia). It’s scheduled for April,” said Davis about his immediate future. “I’m here. He’s been training. He’s been talking. And let’s see who’s really about that.”

Tonight’s fight card was loaded with young talent. In the co main event I did not get the show I expected from Jeron “Boots” Ennis. Prior to tonight’s fight the Ennis team submitted a request to the IBF to order a mandatory match against current undefeated champ Errol Spence. I’m not so sure this win will help his case as a worthy contender to Spence. However it might also encourage opponents to stop avoiding Jeron according to his trainer after the fight.

Karen Chukhadzhan representing the Ukraine proved to be a pesky opponent and was not gonna let this be an easy outing for Ennis. “Boots” looked to establish his jab and close the distance as his opponent tried to stay away from the puncher through most of the fight. Chukhadzhan was even able to catch Ennis at times, something you don’t normally see. Ennis was able to get the unanimous decision though thru his constant pressure and landing more clean shots. In the post fight presser I was able to as Jeron how it felt to have his first piece of hardware. “It feels great, you know it’s something to look forward to in the future getting the real thing” Ennis said, “its a great experience to have a belt and I appreciate the IBF and Showtime and everyone else to allow me to fight for the belt”.  

The PPV broadcast kicked off in the super middleweight division. First bout featured Demetrius “BooBoo” Andrade, making his debut at this weight and Demond Nicholson. Andrade scored a knock down in the 2nd round but then went down himself in the 5th but was not ruled a knockdown by the ref as it appeared to be a tangling of feet. Andrade appeared to score another knockdown to end the 7th but the ref  ruled another slip.”BooBoo” got another knockdown in the 10th and final round on his way to a unanimous decision.

In a welterweight eliminator, undefeated Rashidi Ellis took on once beaten Roiman Villa. Ellis played the retreat role as Villa continuously stalked him thru the first half of the fight. Ellis was still first to throw forcing Villa to be a pressing counter puncher. Villa’s strategy started to work for him in the latter rounds as he began to land uppercuts and looping hooks. Villa scored two knockdowns in the 12th and final round, shocking the sellout crowd in Capital One Arena. Ellis built a comfortable lead in the earlier rounds but it was not enough to overcome the late knockdowns and he lost a controversial unanimous 12 round decision.

Kicking off the action tonight on the under-card was female lightweight Mia “Killer Bee” Ellis scored a first round TKO after Karen Dulin got up from 1st  knockdown. Jalil “Major” Hackett got a 1st round KO as well finishing off Joel Guevara after 1st knockdown. Third fight goes the distance with Kyrone Davis getting the unanimous decision win over Christian Fabian Rios. Two time champ Lamont Peterson suffered a 4th round TKO at the hands of Mike “Hurricane” Ogundo. Keshawn Williams scored a unanimous decision over Gustavo David Vittori. Super welterweight Treyvon “Sniper” Marshall scored a 1st rd TKO over Shawn West. Brandun Lee stops Deigo Luquae in the 4th rd. Vito Mielnicki; Jr got a 4th round TKO over Omar Rosales.