Ryan Garcia says Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis is “dumb” and easily falls for the mind game tricks he used during the build-up to their fight on April 22nd.
(Photo credit: Esther Lin/SHOWTIME)
The undefeated ‘Kingry’ Ryan (23-0, 19 KOs) says he makes Gervonta (28-0, 26 KOs) believe that he’s bothered by the trash-talking he’s done about him, but in reality, none of it is getting to him mentally.
Ryan and Gervonta will be headlining on April 22nd on Showtime PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The event sells for $84.99 on PPV.
“I don’t even walk around at 155. I walk around at 151,” said Ryan Garcia to the media when asked about how much he’ll rehydrate for his fight against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.
“None of what he [Tank Davis] said bothered me. I let him believe it. He’s easy to trick. I’m saying this to confuse him. He’ll never know. He’s gullible. Of course, at the high level, you’re not just going to land your left hook. You’ve got to create ways for him to run into it.
“It depends on what’s going on in the ring. Basing it, understanding what he’s trying to set up, where he’s comfortable and where he relaxes, and where he doesn’t relax, and what I’ve been setting up. You never know.
“When does he do that much in the ring?” said Ryan about Tank showing angles and different skills in his workouts. “He doesn’t. I’m not falling for it, man. He don’t fight like that.
“He’s going to try and get me. I’m getting stronger. For sure,” Ryan said when asked if we’re going to see the best version of himself on April 22nd.
“They put too much thought into things sometimes because they’re not fighters,” said Ryan about people commenting on social media about him. “They’re looking at what they can understand instead of ‘This is what I see at surface level,’ but they don’t understand the real depth of the game.
“It’s not as simple as ‘I’m going to hit him because his chin is up.’ All the people that are commenting on Instagram. Come and try and hit me with my chin in the air. You’re not going to be able to. Why? Have you ever asked the question, ‘Why can’t I hit him when he looks like I can hit him?’
“It’s called understanding of distance and awareness,” said Ryan about why he’s not easy to hit despite having his chin in the air. “It’s simple, but it’s not simple when you’re fighting. But you’ve done it for so long, you’ll understand.
“Of course, the only mistake I do sometimes make when I do attack somebody, I’ve got to understand that I’ve got to bring it back up, but obviously, it’s something I’m aware of, and I fix. Understanding distance even on the attack and understanding of awareness so that you don’t just get countered.
“A lot of guys just throw Hail Mary shots. ‘He’s attacking me, hah.’ That’s what happened to Alex Herrera. He’s such a devastating puncher, but after he throws, he just leaves himself there to be hit.
“So it’s awareness of he’s actually there to get hit or if he’s just covering up for a hail Mary shot. He’s not in control of the fight. He’s just covering up to try and land one, like Hail Mary shots. You just got to watch for the Hail Mary shots,” said Ryan Garcia.
