Initially, Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia reached an agreement that the victor of their fight would receive the earnings of the other fighter. However, Davis had a change of heart after emerging as the winner.
This past weekend in Las Vegas, there was a rare event in the world of boxing where two of the top fighters in their prime faced off against each other.
Throughout history, boxers have tended to avoid facing other greats while they are still in their prime and only agree to fights once both fighters have declined.
Gervonta Davis Let Ryan Garcia Keep his fight Earnings (Purse) after beating him & they previously bet the whole purse goes to the winner 💯🫱🏾🫲🏽 https://t.co/S3kr6c3fUP
— Raphousetv (RHTV) (@raphousetv2) April 23, 2023
However, Ryan Garcia has been actively seeking a match with Gervonta “Tank” Davis for several years. Last year, Garcia announced that he not only wanted to fight Davis, but he would also allow Davis to dictate the terms of the match.
During an Instagram Live session with Kai Cent, both fighters agreed to a winner-takes-all bet, whereby they would bet their entire prize money, which may have seemed like a good idea at the time.
However, during their ESPN promotional appearance for the fight, the re-hydration clause appeared to take a toll on Garcia.
The clause restricted both fighters from weighing more than 10 lbs over the 136 lb catch weight, which wasn’t an issue for the smaller Davis but proved to be challenging for Garcia.
Ryan had to shed a considerable amount of weight for the weigh-in and was unable to replenish or nourish himself afterward due to the clause.
During the interview with both fighters, Tank mocked Ryan for looking exhausted from not being able to eat, even pointing out that Ryan didn’t have enough energy to feign his signature enthusiasm.
Ryan Garcia gets to keep the money
Gervonta emerged victorious in the end, landing a brutal body shot on Ryan that caused his nose to bleed and made him drop to his knees, resembling a worshipper in church.
Ryan remained on the canvas until the referee counted to ten. Nonetheless, at the post-fight press conference, Garcia remained silent about giving his fight purse to Tank, implying that he intended to keep it.
Davis, on the other hand, announced during the press conference that he would let Ryan keep his prize money, even though they had made a bet beforehand.
“Nah, he can keep the money. He can take the money; he can take it,”
Fighters should avoid making winner-takes-all purse bets in the future as it has become an overused tactic, and fans are no longer impressed by these gimmicks.
If fighters are unable to devise innovative ways to generate excitement for their fights, they should consider enlisting the services of a competent PR team.
