Gervonta Davis uses body shot to defeat Ryan Garcia

Gervonta Davis Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Gervonta Davis hands Ryan Garcia first loss courtesy of brutal body shot

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 4/23/23

Gervonta Davis prevailed on Saturday night in a battle of unbeaten fighters, defeating Ryan Garcia via seventh-round TKO at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Davis dropped Garcia twice in the fight. He first sent his 24-year-old opponent to the canvas in the second round.

.@Gervontaa DROPS Ryan in Round 2 #DavisGarcia pic.twitter.com/8Pj5Czovqs

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) April 23, 2023

Then in the seventh round, it was a brutal body shot by Tank Davis that ended the fight. Davis caught Garcia with a big left hand to the ribs.

The face of boxing @Gervontaa stops Garcia in round 7 with a VICIOUS body shot #DavisGarcia pic.twitter.com/8MRrWvBOOQ

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) April 23, 2023

What was odd about the sequence was Garcia’s reaction to the punch. He put his hands back up, returned to a fighting stance and even shuffled back a few times before dropping to a knee. He was unable to beat the 10-count after his body shut down on him.

Garcia said after the fight that he could neither breathe nor stand up after that punch.

Ryan Garcia on the body shot from Tank Davis:

"I couldn't breathe…I just couldn't get up." pic.twitter.com/nQZFyFXSWf

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) April 23, 2023

Previously unbeaten, Garcia is now 23-1 with 19 KOs. He took on a huge challenge early in his career by facing Davis and was not quite ready for the Baltimore native.

For his part, Davis improved to 29-0 and has won all but two of those fights by knockout. He is truly the top of the class in the lightweight division.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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