Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia will put their undefeated records on the line in the biggest fight of 2023 so far this evening.
The catchweight bout between the two Americans is poised to finally settle one of the fastest-growing rivalries in boxing.
‘Tank’ Davis is the former protegee of 50-0 legend Floyd Mayweather and has won all 28 of his professional bouts to date.
His next opponent ‘KingRy’ Garcia also boasts an unblemished professional record having claimed 23 victories in a row.
It promises to be a thriller under the lights in Las Vegas and here’s all you need to know about both men ahead of the showdown…
Early years
Davis was born November 7, 1994, in one of the most crime-infested areas of Baltimore - which is ironically the setting for TV hit show The Wire.
And the 28-year-old faced similar themes during his upbringing, with his father imprisoned and his mother battling addiction.
His links to The Wire go one stop further though, with his first coach Calvin Ford serving as the show's inspiration for character 'Cutty'.
“Even though I was in that gym fighting, I felt like I was getting the love I didn’t get at home,” Davis told the LA Times.
“After school let out around 2:30, I’d go straight to the gym to be the first person there, even though it didn’t open until about 4:30. I was the littlest one and I was good, so they took me serious.”
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Garcia had a much less eventful introduction to boxing, born four years later on August 8, 1998 and with both of his parents amateur being boxing officials, 'The Flash' started training at seven.
Amateur Careers
Davis had an impressive stint as an amateur, amassing a 206-15 record before turning professional at 18.
The Southpaw fighter claimed a series of national championships along the way as well, including the 2012 National Golden Gloves.
As for Garcia, he became a 15-time national amateur champion while learning his trade in Mexico.
He was 215-15 when he signed with Golden Boy Promotions Chairman Oscar De La Hoya as an 18-year-old.
"Ryan Garcia is special, simple as that," De La Hoya said in 2016. "His amateur pedigree is among the best I've ever seen."
Davis vs Garcia
Gervonta Davis vs Ryan Garcia
Age: 28 – 24
Height: 5 ft 6 – 5ft 10
Weight: 135.1lbs – 135½lbs (catchweight of 136lbs)
Professional record: 28-0-0 (26 KOs) – 23-0-0 (18 KOs)
Reach: 67' – 70′
Nicknames: Tank – The Flash or KingRy
Professional Careers
Davis opted to turned pro aged 18 rather than wait three years for the 2016 Olympics and raced to 13 wins, all inside six rounds.
He signed with Mayweather’s promotion after impressing 'Money' at a sparring session.
Davis was then afforded the exposure of competing on the undercard of the Mayweather vs Conor McGregor PPV.
However, he lost his IBF super-featherweight title by missing weight and then secured a controversial eighth-round KO win over Francisco Fonseca.
Davis responded four months later by claiming the WBA belt after deposing Jesus Cuellar in November 2017.
He dispatched Hugo Ruiz and Ricardo Nunez in successive title defences before moving up to lightweight.
Davis was taken past the ninth round for the first time en route to capturing the vacant WBA (Regular) lightweight title by defeating Yuriorkis Gamboa by twelfth-round TKO.
The American had firmly established his reputation as pound-for-pound one of the hardest punchers in boxing by this time.
And next came his most brutal one-punch KO to date as he returned to super-featherweight and flattened Leo Santa Cruz.
Tank even moved up to super-lightweight (140lbs) in 2021 and knocked out Mario Barrios in the higher division.
His lightweight fight against Isaac Cruz remains the only time he has gone the distance – a bout in which he suffered a hand injury.
But he returned in style to bludgeon bitter rival Rolly Romero while Hector Garcia was pulled out by his corner to spare him from Davis in the latter's most recent outing in January.
Meanwhile, Garcia has barely put a foot wrong during his 23-fight career, barring being put down by Luke Campbell in January 2021.
But the California-born star recovered to send the British former Olympic gold medalist into retirement.
That fight came after he had recorded a first round knockout in two successive fights, including Davis' former foe Fonseca.
Garcia initially struggled to kick on following his win over Campbell, withdrawing from a fight with Javier Fortuna three months later to manage his mental health.
An injury to his right hand then further curtailed his progress in late 2021, leading to a postponed bout with Joseph Diaz Jr.
"I went through a hard year. ... Everything came tumbling down on me mentally," Garcia said on ESPN+'s State of Boxing.
"It was a hard time in my life. It got really dark ... to the point I didn't know if I wanted to live anymore. I had a lot of thoughts about that throughout the whole year."
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Garcia returned in style over a year later as he dominated former IBO lightweight champion Emmanuel Tagoe in April 2022.
That led him into rescheduling his showdown with Fortuna and winning it in an emphatic fashion, a sixth round TKO last July.
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