Gervonta Davis lived up to his pre-fight prediction by stopping Ryan Garcia in the seventh round of their catchweight bout in Las Vegas on Saturday night to come out on top in this fierce rivalry.
In one of the most highly-anticipated bouts of the year between two of boxing's biggest stars, Davis had Garcia down on the canvas in the second round after weathering a lightning-speed combo, before ending the fight five rounds later with a vicious body shot that his fellow American couldn't recover from.
Davis vowed to stop Garcia in the seventh or eighth round of their fight at T-Mobile Arena and that's exactly what the WBA lightweight world champion did to extend his unbeaten professional record to 29 victories with 27 knockouts.
The defeat was Garcia's first in his 24th professional bout.
This fight between lightweight challengers had the feel of a big-time event, attracting celebrities such as Julius Erving, Damian Lillard ,and Mark Walhberg, as well as former champs Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Manny Pacquiao.
What kind of lasting impact this fight will have on the sport beyond Saturday remains to be seen, but both fighters — even as they bickered all week — recognised its importance when they agreed to fight. They are two boxers in their prime willing to take on each other rather than carefully choose other opponents to enhance their resumes.
They also are represented by rival promoters: Davis by Mayweather Promotions and Garcia by Golden Boy Promotions.
Even the promoters argued before the fight, with Golden Boy's Oscar De La Hoya claiming Mayweather's Leonard Ellerbe and his camp protected Davis by insisting certain clauses be written into the contract. Ellerbe shot back that as the dominant side, they had the right to ask for certain stipulations.
Davis' victory could set up a showdown with undefeated Devin Haney, who owns all four major championship belts in the division. Haney faces former champion Vasiliy Lomachenko in May, also in Las Vegas.
"I am the face of boxing," said Davis, who had never headlined a pay-per-view card despite earning world titles at super-featherweight, lightweight and super-lightweight.
"I just saw Rihanna perform at the Super Bowl and I was like that was going to be me one day, and here we are.
"It definitely matches the dream. But the job's never done til I retire. So I'm going to keep my head down, stay humble and continue to work."
Garcia, meanwhile, will have to go back to the drawing board after falling to 23-1 with 19 knockouts.
The 24-year-old's hand speed and punching power make him a formidable opponent, and his massive social media presence has made him a mainstream celebrity, but he has yet to earn a top-flight world title.
After a testy build-up to the bout, Garcia was gracious in defeat, calling it "an honour" to be in the ring with Davis.
"He just caught me with a good shot," Garcia said. "I just couldn't recover. Snuck under me and caught me good."
He said he didn't want to elaborate, but when asked agreed he couldn't breathe.
"I was going to get back up, but I just couldn't get up," he said.
In the co-main event, David Morrell Jr made quick work of Yamaguchi Falcao, knocking him out at 2:22 of the first round to retain his WBA super middleweight championship. Morrell improved to 9-0, with all but one of his fights by KO. Falcao, who remained on the canvass for about three minutes, is 24-2-1.
Morrell called this “the best moment of my career” and said he wants to take on two-time WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez.
“I don’t want any other guys at 168 pounds, just Benavidez," Morrell said. "I respect Benavidez and his team, but inside the ring, I don’t respect nothing.”
