Gervonta Davis-Hector Luis Garcia Showtime PPV fight is on for Jan. 7
What had caused a whirlwind of conjecture earlier this week has come to a conclusion as of Friday.
Multiple sources have confirmed to The Ring that the Premier Boxing Champions/Showtime pay-per-view event headlined by the Gervonta Davis-Hector Luis Garcia bout will still take place on Saturday, January 7, at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
Earlier this week there was some thought that Davis, The Ring’s No. 3-ranked lightweight, might be pulled from the card after he was arrested in Parkland, Florida, on Tuesday afternoon, December 27, for allegedly striking a woman.
Since then, multiple sources have revealed that Davis (27-0, 25 knockouts) will fight 2022 breakout performer García (16-0, 10 KOs), the WBA 130-pound beltholder and No. 2 in The Ring’s junior lightweight rankings, in a 12-round lightweight matchup of contrasting southpaws.
The woman who alleged Davis struck her came out publicly on social media Friday stating: “The state of our relationship has been in a fragile space and Gervonta and I were both at fault for the argument. While the emotions were running high, I made the unnecessary call to law enforcement in an intense moment while I was frantic. Gervonta did not harm me or our daughter.
“Today, we have sought the help necessary to move forward with our lives. I am confident that we will succeed with our co-parenting dynamic with the counseling provided to us.”
The Davis-Garcia co-feature will be a 12-round fight between rising star and Ring’s No. 3-rated welterweight Jaron “Boots” Ennis (29-0, 27 KOs) and Karen Chukhadzhian (21-1, 11 KOs).
The card also features a 12-round welterweight fight between Rashidi Ellis (24-0, 15 KOs) against Roiman Villa (25-1, 24 KOs), with the winner possibly facing the Ennis-Chukhadzhian winner next, and a 10-round super middleweight bout between Demetrius Andrade (31-0, 19 KOs) and Demond Nicholson (26-4-1, 22 KOs). Ellis has wanted to face Ennis for some time now, and Andrade, the former WBO super middleweight titlist, is coming off a 14-month layoff.
Both the Ennis and Garcia camps confirmed that they have not heard anything to the contrary that the fight is off and continue to train for the January 7 date.
Some thought the card was in jeopardy when Davis was arrested at 2:50 p.m. ET on Tuesday in Parkland, Florida, on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge of battery causing bodily harm, according to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. On Wednesday, he was released on $1,000 bail, which numerous law enforcement sources contacted on Thursday by The Ring revealed the low bail indicated the allegations were not serious.
Another concern was how Showtime would deal with the matter. The cable giant had a similar situation in December 2021, when Davis was scheduled to fight Rolando Romero on a PBC event on Showtime PPV. Romero was taken off the card when he faced a sexual assault allegation.
No charges were filed and Romero eventually fought Davis, who won by sixth-round knockout on May 28, 2022 on Showtime PPV from Brooklyn’s Barclay Center.
“Showtime didn’t take me off the fight, I pulled myself off that card in 2021, because I knew the fight was going to happen anyway,” Romero told The Ring Friday afternoon. “It was my choice to remove myself from that fight. Tank got a lucky shot against me (in May 2022). I have no comment about Tank’s current situation. His situation has nothing to do with me. My situation was simply false. It was just false.
“Hey, you’re young, you’re making money, guys like us are targets by everyone. It’s sad. But it’s the life we chose.”
Davis, 28, does face a serious situation on February 16 in Baltimore Circuit Court for allegedly leaving the scene of a car accident that occurred during the overnight hours of November 5, 2020, involving four people, one of whom was pregnant at the time.
In that situation, Davis faces 14 misdemeanor counts of traffic violations, the most serious of which alleges Davis left the scene of an accident that involved bodily injury. That would get tagged onto allegedly driving with a suspended and revoked license. If found guilty on the remaining charges, Davis could face a maximum of 50 months in prison. If found guilty of driving with a suspended and revoked license, Davis could face a maximum one-year sentence separately for each alleged violation.
A verdict against Davis could cloud his proposed megabout with fellow lightweight star Ryan Garcia on April 15 in Las Vegas.
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been working for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Follow @JSantoliquito
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