Geoff Clark
Videos by OutKick
It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This: Gervonta “Tank” Davis (28-0) vs. Ryan “King Ry” Garcia (23-0) in a catchweight bout Saturday, April 22nd is one of the few boxing pay-per-views (PPV) worth purchasing.
The main card Davis-Garcia at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas begins at 8 p.m. ET and ring walkouts for the main event are projected for 11 p.m. ET. Davis-Garcia is available on Showtime Boxing’s PPV.
Credit to Davis and Garcia for giving boxing fans a fight everyone wanted to see. This is a non-title bout at 136 pounds with a 10 lbs rehydration clause in their contracts.
Davis is the reigning WBC lightweight champion and Garcia is the former interim lightweight champ. Tank has more knockout (KO) power with more impressive victories. But, King Ry is the bigger and more popular fighter.
Gervonta Davis (C) Vs. Ryan Garcia
- Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
| Davis | Fighter | Garcia |
| 28-0 (26 KO) | Record | 23-0 (19 KO) |
| -230 | Odds | +180 |
| Southpaw | Style | Orthodox |
| USA | Country | USA |
| 5’6″ | Height | 5’10” |
| 135 | Weight | 135.5 |
| 67″ | Arm Reach | 70″ |
What I’ve gathered from listening to a bunch of boxing podcasts previewing Davis vs. Garcia is the betting public generally backs underdogs in prize fights.
This is the opposite of team sports. Typically, the public loves to bet favorites so there’s inherent value in backing ‘dogs in the Super Bowl, March Madness, the NBA Finals, etc.
‘Tank’s’ KO Reel
However, according to ESPN’s Joe Fortenbaugh on The Ringer’s Gambling Show, the Las Vegas sportsbooks always needed Floyd Mayweather Jr. to win his fights. As a life-long boxing fan this sounds ridiculous.
Mayweather is undefeated (50-0) and has never even been knocked down in a boxing match. Yet the public would be lured into betting Mayweather’s opponents because of the fat payouts.
Supposedly, the public is lining up to bet Garcia over Davis because of the odds and Garcia is the bigger name. Garcia has double the Instagram followers of Davis and has gained popularity with his dope fight videos.
‘King Ry’ Highlights
Ultimately, my Davis-Garcia handicaps relies on most of the public betting the underdog and me getting on the same side as the sportsbooks.
Garcia’s best chance to beat Davis is on the judges’ scorecards. Davis gets out to slow starts and gives up the early rounds to learn about his opponent.
But, Davis has went the distance (twice) more than Garcia (once). Also, the rehydration clause effects Garcia more than Davis because Garcia is the bigger fighter.
While King Ry has the reach, Tank is the faster and better all-around boxer. Davis will use all the info he picks up in the early rounds, close the distance and put Garcia away before the judges can weigh in.
BET: Gevonta ‘Tank’ Davis (-230) moneyline at DraftKings
Listen to the ‘OutKick Bets with Geoff Clark’ podcast HERE.
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