| |
|
|
Ryan Garcia Los Angeles Media Workout
Photos: Esther Lin - SHOWTIME
Hard-hitting undefeated
sensation “King” Ryan Garcia showed off his vaunted power
and hand speed during a media workout from a ring
overlooking the picturesque San Fernando Valley in Beverly
Hills on Tuesday, vowing to “destroy” Gervonta “Tank” Davis
ahead of their clash on Saturday, April 22 headlining live
on pay-per-view from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in an event
presented by Premier Boxing Champions.
Davis vs. Garcia is promoted by GTD Promotions, TGB
Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions and the telecast is
produced by SHOWTIME PPV.
Garcia has headlined fights across Los Angeles, Dallas and
San Antonio, with fans packing the rafters to watch his
meteoric rise. He now steps into the biggest fight of his
career and a rare matchup of unbeaten superstars in the
prime of their careers. The 24-year-old looked at home on
Tuesday as he hit the pads in the ring assembled in the
backyard of a mansion owned by reality TV personality and
businesswoman Adrienne Maloof.
Here is what Garcia, along with his trainer, the renowned
Joe Goossen, and legendary promoter Oscar De La Hoya had to
say Tuesday:
Ryan Garcia
“This fight means a lot to me. It means everything. It’s a
moment that I’ve been envisioning for so long now. It’s the
only thing I’ve wanted for so long, to defeat Gervonta Davis
and to destroy him. To end everything that he’s ever worked
for, because I know he’s trying to do that for me. I’m going
to take him out. He’s done. It’s nap time for Gervonta.
“I’m just going to be focused in the ring, no matter if it’s
the first round, second round, third round. Any of the
rounds, he can go to sleep. He’s going to have to be
careful. That’s what I have to tell him. Be careful. I don’t
think he is, and he’s going to walk into one. Or I’m just
going to go get him. Either way, I’m going to beat him.
“I’m excited for fight week and I’m going to be even more
excited when I’m there. But right now, my thoughts are just,
‘stay focused and do my best during the media workout.’ When
I get there, I’m going to love it. Everybody is going to be
there. Everybody wanted this fight so I’m expecting good
energy and for everybody to be pumped up. Some people are
going to think he’s going to win, some people are going to
think I’m going to win. I’m just going to win.
“Nobody really trains at these media workouts, so I just
thought to make it as cool and as fun as it can be. I know
that I’m going to be training at 7 o’clock tonight, so I
might as well make a show out of this. Everybody is getting
some good food, I’m going to treat the media well and give
them the best answers as I can, and that’s it. Make
everybody happy.
“This is a huge fight for boxing. It can really change the
trajectory of the sport and inspire young fighters to get it
on right now. People are going to love you. They’re going to
see that you went out there and you fought the best and you
gave it your all. Even if you win or even if you lose, you
showed them what a champion is in life. You just get right
back up and you don’t let negative people that won’t even
dare to do anything keep you down because you know where
you’re going in life. To me, this is important to everybody
that it takes courage to go after something that nobody
believed you could do. That’s why I’m standing here today.
To make everybody realize that if you’re in there and chase
your dream like you’ve never chased anything before, and
you’ll see something special happen.
“This is a fight to show everybody that I’m great. I’m not
daring to be great. I know I’m great. I know when I step in
the ring, he’s going to feel something he’s never felt
before. I’m going to conquer him. Everything he tries to do
I’ll have an answer for him. Gervonta Davis is not going to
beat me. I promise you.
“He’s going to nap time. Nap time can be with either the
right or the left. It doesn’t matter. I think he’s just
terrified of the left hook. Once he hears that in his
dreams, he just starts shaking in his boots. That’s a
trigger word for him. Left hook. He just gets terrified of
that.
“I feel like people have lost touch with what boxing truly
is about. People used to realize that you see how a champion
reacts after he gets hit. That’s how you determine what a
champion is. People have lost touch with that. It used to be
a proud moment where you showed that you can still stay
focused in the fight. You can still get back to controlling
it and you can still knock somebody out after you get
dropped. That should have been the testimony of how much of
a champion I truly am in my heart.
“But we live in a world where people expect you to be
perfect and they don’t understand that this is real life.
We’re really fighting here. But you respond by getting up
and going and doing your thing. You show everybody that
you’re great. You don’t let those things tear you down and
you keep moving forward. I have to show people that I’m
destined for this.
“This is going to be my third fight with Joe Goossen and
having a guy with so much experience and understanding of
the game, I just love being around him. He’s a very
intelligent man. I love being around a person that you can
just talk to about life in different ways and come to better
understandings of both life and boxing. It’s great to have a
person like that around me.
“Gervonta says he’s going to take me into deep waters. Guess
what, I know how to swim. It’s nothing special. He needs to
come up with something better than that. Think a little
harder.
“I hope Gervonta has been getting good sleep. If not, he’ll
get some good sleep April 22.”
Oscar De La Hoya
“This is the fight to save boxing. Literally. Every decade
has its fight to save boxing. This is the fight to save
boxing. The reason why it is, is because you have two young
guys, two undefeated guys, who are the best of the best,
willing to fight each other. You can see and feel the
anticipation. The ticket sales is a great indication that
the pay-per-view is going to be huge. This is the fight of
the year.
“With a win, Ryan doesn’t become this generation’s Oscar De
La Hoya. He becomes this generation’s Ryan Garcia. Even
before he was a superstar, I’ve always said that Ryan Garcia
can become even bigger than Canelo. Even bigger than Oscar
De La Hoya. Bigger than whoever. Because we’re living in a
time where media is everything. Media has brought the world
together. The world is going to be watching on April 22.
It’s going to shatter pay-per-view records and numbers. It’s
going to do a huge amount of buys. We’re living in a time
where social media is bringing the world together. The word
is spreading so fast on this fight. It’s catching fire. Come
April 22, it’s going to be fireworks and the biggest event
in sports.
“I’ve given little tips to Ryan here and there on how to
deal with an event of this magnitude. Being involved in
events like these inside the ring myself, I can share with
Ryan what he’s going to feel come fight week. What he’s
going to feel after he weighs in. What he’s going to feel as
he’s walking down the tunnel into the ring. It’s no secret
that I’ve been there. He’s always open to listening and
taking the advice. It can only help. Having a promoter like
myself and Bernard Hopkins, another legendary fighter, is
obviously a plus for any fighter.
“If Ryan only has a left hook, then he does. We’re going to
see with Ryan on April 22. We don’t know. It’s going to be
something special. If they are relying on Ryan’s left hook,
then so be it. I don’t know exactly what he’s going to do,
but it’s going to be special.
“I told Ryan the other day, ‘I can see it in your eyes.
There’s something in your eyes that tells me you’re going to
do something special.’ There’s fighters in each generation
that are chosen, and Ryan is the chosen one for this
generation.
“I love ‘Tank.’ I love the way he carries himself. I love
the way he works hard. I love the way he comes out and
fights and knocks his opponents out. I love his demeanor and
his work ethic. There’s nothing bad that I can say about
Gervonta. I have to respect him. But he’s going up against
my guy, so obviously I have Ryan.”
Joe Goossen
“Ryan may have carved out one of the top spots of fighters
I’ve trained in my career. He’s a very unique individual to
start with. Like I always say there’s a certain amount of
boxes you check for each fighter. They are all checked for
him – from the bottom to the top. He’s got the speed, he’s
got the power, he’s got the reach, he’s got the height. What
a work ethic. He’s so self-driven and self-motivated. You
wonder, ‘Could this really be true?’
“He looks like a star. He carries himself like a star. I
just think Ryan is one of the top three of my all-time
favorite fighters ever. But I think after this fight on the
22nd he’ll occupy the No. 1 spot.
“What can fans expect? They can expect the unexpected. Ryan
is one of the best out there. Tank is one of the best out
there. This is what makes great fights – the unknown. And
people are on one side or the other. They both have great
qualities. We’ve really trained to do one thing and that’s
to win this fight. We’re not going to go to Las Vegas with
any other thought in our head than to win the fight and I’m
sure the other side has the same ideas.”
|
|
|
