Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn thinks Ryan Garcia could have gotten up but DIDN’T, which means that he technically quit in the 7th round of his fight against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis on April 22nd.
It’s already been established in the eyes of the fans that Ryan (23-1, 19 KOs) quit. The dialogue that Showtimes ALL Access picked up after the fight, in which Ryan told his trainer Joe Goosen that he didn’t want to continue because of a rib injury, makes it clear that he chose to take the easy way out when he was hit to the body by Gevonta in the seventh.
For Hearn to openly admit that Ryan quit, says a lot because if he chooses to leave Golden Boy Promotions soon, he may remember Eddie’s comment about him quitting, and he could decide against signing with him.
“I think it was a great event, great for boxing. Both of them deserve a lot of credit for making the fight,” said Eddie Hearn to Fight Hub TV about the Ryan Garcia vs. Gervonta Davis fight.
“He hit too hard for Ryan. He didn’t get up, and then he got up at the count of ten and walked to his corner. A lot of people think he quit. If you want to be brutally honest, you can’t say he didn’t quit,” Hearn continued about Ryan Garcia electing not to get to his feet in the seventh round after being knocked down by Tank Davis with a shot to the liver.
“Quitting is deciding not to continue, and he decided not to continue. He did look the referee in the eye and let him count to ten and got up and walked to his corner. If you’re being honest, he did [quit].
“When you’re on your knee, you have to try and get up. He didn’t want to get up. He still chose not to get up.
“I don’t know how close their relationship was,” Hearn said when asked about Ryan’s decision to fire his trainer Joe Goosen afteer his loss to Tank Davis. “Ryan does a lot of things himself, with his brother [Sean] holding the pads].
“Fantastic numbers,” said Hearn about the reported 1.2 million PPV buys for Tank Davis vs. Ryan Garcia. “Previously, Tank did 200,000 [without Ryan on PPV]. With the right dance partner, he’s in a really good position to do some great numbers,” Eddie said about Gervonta.
