Davis vs. Garcia: A Marquee Fight That Is Actually Happening

Saturday’s bout, then, highlights what boxers and their business partners can gain when big-name fighters square off. The lightweight division alone features Garcia, who splits time between the 135- and 140-pound divisions, and Davis, along with Shakur Stevenson, the former 130-pound world champion.

The current undisputed lightweight champion is Devin Haney, who defends his belts against Vasyl Lomachenko next month, and who is optimistic about the sport.

“We have it confused. They say the best don’t fight each other, but this is the era of the undisputed champion,” said Haney, who has titles from all four major sanctioning bodies. “These guys cannot be undisputed if the best guys weren’t fighting each other. I think it’s a good time in boxing.”

But negotiations can grow tense when each fighter considers himself the headliner. The Davis-Garcia bout was finalized only after Garcia agreed to a series of compromises. He will receive 45 percent of the guaranteed purse, compared with 55 percent for Davis. Garcia also agreed to weigh in at 136 pounds on Friday, and to cap his overnight weight gain at 10 pounds.

Garcia’s camp says fear drove Davis to insist on those clauses, which force Garcia to lose more weight than he normally does before he fights. But Davis’s backers maintain that negotiating advantages is a headliner’s right.

“We believe in Tank 1,000 percent,” said Leonard Ellerbe, the chief executive of Mayweather Promotions, which is still affiliated with Davis even though the boxer is a free agent. “We’ve been the A-side in this situation. That’s how the A-side carries itself.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/22/sports/gervonta-davis-ryan-garcia-boxing.html