Ryan Garcia: “I’m going to take him out. It’s nap time for Gervonta”
Undefeated Rivals Gervonta “Tank” Davis and “King” Ryan Garcia Clash Saturday, April 22 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
Photos from Esther Lin/SHOWTIME
Hard-hitting undefeated sensation “King” Ryan Garcia showed off his vaunted power and hand speed during a media workout from a ring overlooking the picturesque San Fernando Valley in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, vowing to “destroy” Gervonta “Tank” Davis ahead of their clash on Saturday, April 22 headlining live on pay-per-view from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in an event presented by Premier Boxing Champions.
Garcia has headlined fights across Los Angeles, Dallas and San Antonio, with fans packing the rafters to watch his meteoric rise. He now steps into the biggest fight of his career and a rare matchup of unbeaten superstars in the prime of their careers. The 24-year-old looked at home on Tuesday as he hit the pads in the ring assembled in the backyard of a mansion owned by reality TV personality and businesswoman Adrienne Maloof.
Here is what Garcia, along with his trainer, the renowned Joe Goossen, and legendary promoter Oscar De La Hoya had to say Tuesday:
Ryan Garcia
“This fight means a lot to me. It means everything. It’s a moment that I’ve been envisioning for so long now. It’s the only thing I’ve wanted for so long, to defeat Gervonta Davis and to destroy him. To end everything that he’s ever worked for, because I know he’s trying to do that for me. I’m going to take him out. He’s done. It’s nap time for Gervonta.
“I’m just going to be focused in the ring, no matter if it’s the first round, second round, third round. Any of the rounds, he can go to sleep. He’s going to have to be careful. That’s what I have to tell him. Be careful. I don’t think he is, and he’s going to walk into one. Or I’m just going to go get him. Either way, I’m going to beat him.
“I’m excited for fight week and I’m going to be even more excited when I’m there. But right now, my thoughts are just, ‘stay focused and do my best during the media workout.’ When I get there, I’m going to love it. Everybody is going to be there. Everybody wanted this fight so I’m expecting good energy and for everybody to be pumped up. Some people are going to think he’s going to win, some people are going to think I’m going to win. I’m just going to win.
“Nobody really trains at these media workouts, so I just thought to make it as cool and as fun as it can be. I know that I’m going to be training at 7 o’clock tonight, so I might as well make a show out of this. Everybody is getting some good food, I’m going to treat the media well and give them the best answers as I can, and that’s it. Make everybody happy.
“This is a huge fight for boxing. It can really change the trajectory of the sport and inspire young fighters to get it on right now. People are going to love you. They’re going to see that you went out there and you fought the best and you gave it your all. Even if you win or even if you lose, you showed them what a champion is in life. You just get right back up and you don’t let negative people that won’t even dare to do anything keep you down because you know where you’re going in life. To me, this is important to everybody that it takes courage to go after something that nobody believed you could do. That’s why I’m standing here today. To make everybody realize that if you’re in there and chase your dream like you’ve never chased anything before, and you’ll see something special happen.
“This is a fight to show everybody that I’m great. I’m not daring to be great. I know I’m great. I know when I step in the ring, he’s going to feel something he’s never felt before. I’m going to conquer him. Everything he tries to do I’ll have an answer for him. Gervonta Davis is not going to beat me. I promise you.
“He’s going to nap time. Nap time can be with either the right or the left. It doesn’t matter. I think he’s just terrified of the left hook. Once he hears that in his dreams, he just starts shaking in his boots. That’s a trigger word for him. Left hook. He just gets terrified of that.
“I feel like people have lost touch with what boxing truly is about. People used to realize that you see how a champion reacts after he gets hit. That’s how you determine what a champion is. People have lost touch with that. It used to be a proud moment where you showed that you can still stay focused in the fight. You can still get back to controlling it and you can still knock somebody out after you get dropped. That should have been the testimony of how much of a champion I truly am in my heart.
“But we live in a world where people expect you to be perfect and they don’t understand that this is real life. We’re really fighting here. But you respond by getting up and going and doing your thing. You show everybody that you’re great. You don’t let those things tear you down and you keep moving forward. I have to show people that I’m destined for this.
“This is going to be my third fight with Joe Goossen and having a guy with so much experience and understanding of the game, I just love being around him. He’s a very intelligent man. I love being around a person that you can just talk to about life in different ways and come to better understandings of both life and boxing. It’s great to have a person like that around me.
“Gervonta says he’s going to take me into deep waters. Guess what, I know how to swim. It’s nothing special. He needs to come up with something better than that. Think a little harder.
“I hope Gervonta has been getting good sleep. If not, he’ll get some good sleep April 22.”
Oscar De La Hoya
“This is the fight to save boxing. Literally. Every decade has its fight to save boxing. This is the fight to save boxing. The reason why it is, is because you have two young guys, two undefeated guys, who are the best of the best, willing to fight each other. You can see and feel the anticipation. The ticket sales is a great indication that the pay-per-view is going to be huge. This is the fight of the year.
“With a win, Ryan doesn’t become this generation’s Oscar De La Hoya. He becomes this generation’s Ryan Garcia. Even before he was a superstar, I’ve always said that Ryan Garcia can become even bigger than Canelo. Even bigger than Oscar De La Hoya. Bigger than whoever. Because we’re living in a time where media is everything. Media has brought the world together. The world is going to be watching on April 22. It’s going to shatter pay-per-view records and numbers. It’s going to do a huge amount of buys. We’re living in a time where social media is bringing the world together. The word is spreading so fast on this fight. It’s catching fire. Come April 22, it’s going to be fireworks and the biggest event in sports.
“I’ve given little tips to Ryan here and there on how to deal with an event of this magnitude. Being involved in events like these inside the ring myself, I can share with Ryan what he’s going to feel come fight week. What he’s going to feel after he weighs in. What he’s going to feel as he’s walking down the tunnel into the ring. It’s no secret that I’ve been there. He’s always open to listening and taking the advice. It can only help. Having a promoter like myself and Bernard Hopkins, another legendary fighter, is obviously a plus for any fighter.
“If Ryan only has a left hook, then he does. We’re going to see with Ryan on April 22. We don’t know. It’s going to be something special. If they are relying on Ryan’s left hook, then so be it. I don’t know exactly what he’s going to do, but it’s going to be special.
“I told Ryan the other day, ‘I can see it in your eyes. There’s something in your eyes that tells me you’re going to do something special.’ There’s fighters in each generation that are chosen, and Ryan is the chosen one for this generation.
“I love ‘Tank.’ I love the way he carries himself. I love the way he works hard. I love the way he comes out and fights and knocks his opponents out. I love his demeanor and his work ethic. There’s nothing bad that I can say about Gervonta. I have to respect him. But he’s going up against my guy, so obviously I have Ryan.”
Joe Goossen
“Ryan may have carved out one of the top spots of fighters I’ve trained in my career. He’s a very unique individual to start with. Like I always say there’s a certain amount of boxes you check for each fighter. They are all checked for him – from the bottom to the top. He’s got the speed, he’s got the power, he’s got the reach, he’s got the height. What a work ethic. He’s so self-driven and self-motivated. You wonder, ‘Could this really be true?’
“He looks like a star. He carries himself like a star. I just think Ryan is one of the top three of my all-time favorite fighters ever. But I think after this fight on the 22nd he’ll occupy the No. 1 spot.
“What can fans expect? They can expect the unexpected. Ryan is one of the best out there. Tank is one of the best out there. This is what makes great fights – the unknown. And people are on one side or the other. They both have great qualities. We’ve really trained to do one thing and that’s to win this fight. We’re not going to go to Las Vegas with any other thought in our head than to win the fight and I’m sure the other side has the same ideas.”
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