Davis Floors Garcia, but Heads Into an Uncertain Future

A one-punch knockout and a mic-drop moment for the undefeated 28-year-old power puncher from Baltimore.

“He came in. He was rushing. He got caught with a shot,” said Davis, whose future partly rests on the outcome of two criminal cases against him. In May, he will be sentenced for a hit-and-run crash that injured four people and arraigned on charges that he struck a woman at his home in Parkland, Fla.

Even without titles at stake, the bout, which matched elite undefeated fighters, had a championship feel. On the Las Vegas Strip, vendors hawked commemorative T-shirts, and inside T-Mobile Arena, celebrities dotted ringside seats. Manny Pacquiao, the former world champion in eight divisions, sat two seats away from Mark Wahlberg. Several members of the Las Vegas Raiders attended, as did Mike Tyson.

Part of the appeal owed to Garcia’s popularity. By early Sunday morning his Instagram follower count had risen to nearly 10 million. His broad and loyal audience makes him attractive to sponsors, like Gatorade, and boxing power brokers looking to stage a mega event.

Davis is a proven ticket-seller — his previous bout set a gate revenue record at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. He is also a favorite among pro athletes and hip-hop stars. The day before the fight, Drake bet $1 million on Davis, and before the opening bell, Davis strutted to the ring with the rapper Chief Keef rhyming alongside him.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/23/sports/davis-garcia.html