Davis vs Garcia supremacy KOs sanctioning bodies

The must-see biggest boxing match-up of 2023 between two young stars – Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Ryan “KingRy” Garcia at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vega – has proven beyond doubt that the belts of boxing sanctioning bodies don’t make champions.

The head honchos of all these alphabetic soup of titles, from WBA to WBU, must soon get  that right in their heads, that the treatment of the boxers must supercede the one they give to their organisations' belts. 

No sanctioning body will benefit from this Davis vs Garcia super-fight by way of exorbitant sanctioning fees as the fight this coming weekend is a non-title contest. It is purely a battle for supremacy. The winner will earn the bragging rights as the best lightweight fighter of this era. He will also be the king of pay-per-view as that will enable him to rake in billions of  rand as his purse money going forward.

Davis is represented by Floyd Mayweather’s Floyd Mayweather Promotions and Al Haymon, with his fights broadcast on Showtime, while Golden Boy Promotions of Oscar De La Hoya promotes Garcia with his fights broadcast on DAZN. 

For the upcoming match, Davis is said to be guaranteed a $1.5m (R27m) payday while Garcia is expected to earn $350,000. The pay-per-view share is split 60/40 in favour of Davis.

The 28-year-old from Baltimore, Maryland, holds the WBA regular belt while 24-year-old Garcia from Los Alamitos, California, is yet to win a world title of any legitimate level. They are both undefeated. Davis has previously won legitimate world titles in three weight divisions.

De La Hoya is quoted saying: “It can go either way. I always says that because both guys are so special, whoever makes the first mistake is gonna go down.”

Andile Sdinile, an ardent boxing fundi, predicts a win for Davis.

“I am saying this without undermining Garcia’s capabilities. But he has limitations, he fights up-right and you don’t do that against Tank. The minute Tank figures out that jab and a hook, it will be over. It’s a type of a fight that can end before it begins.

“Tank is underrated yet his ring IQ is way above the scales. He has punch placement and setting traps with very devastating body punches.”

The mega-fight is scheduled for Saturday at 8pm Las Vegas time (2am Sunday SA time) and will be broadcast on SuperSport.