By William Trillo
Photo:-Chop: Bret “The Threat” Newton
No sooner than the Tank Davis vs. Ryan Garcia April fight was announced, I penned a little article with a not too subtle warning. You can read that November 18 post here:
Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia: Initial Thoughts and Concerns « Billy’s Boxing Blog
My concerns were simple. Outside of the ring both Garcia and Davis are less than Phi Beta Kappa when it comes to handling their business. First it was Garcia who scrapped a tune-up bout with the faded and soft punching Mercito Gesta. It was a move that Garcia’s own promoter Oscar De La Hoya said, “I strongly feel it’s a big mistake!”
It’s hard to say with any certainty why Garcia bypassed the Gesta fight, but we have seen Ryan wander in the past and can’t help but wonder if the same issues are rearing their ugly head again, so to speak.
Then, in a surprising but not so surpriing turn of events, Tank was arrested on yet another domestic violence charge. Davis was less than two weeks away from his title defense againt Hector Luis Garcia. Bad timing on Tank’s part, very bad timing.
So, now not only is the Davis ttitle defense scheduled for January 7th in jeopardy, but the much anticipated April grudge match between Tank Davis and Ryan Garcia appears to be on shaky legs at best.
Nice work fellas. This is exactly what I was talking about.
To be fair, both fighters have reasons, (read excucses), for their transgressions. For Garcia he claims he simply did not want to take a lesser fight, but instead he would rather save himself for the big battle fight fans have been clamoring to see. For Tank, yes he was arrested on a domestic violence charge, but he claims he did not lay hands on anyone. Let’s go with the “Innocent Until Proven Guilty” motto here.
To be honest, we have seen this act from both men before, so if we are looking at their track records…well you get the picture.
As far as the big fights in 2023 go, we have one that can’t seem to be made, (Spence vs. Crawford), another that has been postponed due to injury, (Charlo vs.Tszyu), and in what appears to be a horrible trifecta, Tank vs. Ryan looks to be falling apart at the seams.
Long gone are the days of “The Four Kings” taking turns battling it out with each other. It’s a pity fight fans are left to scratch their heads and wonder if the days of Mega-Fights are nothing more than a distant memory.
Still, like most boxing fans around the globe, I can’t help but hope that all these wrinkles get ironed out and we can have a blockbuster year in 2023.
Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest boxing truth.
