The battle of two unbeaten bombers with distinct styles and fan bases has been one that has been anticipated for quite a while and what makes this fight even more interesting is that neither fighter has been truly tested by an elite fighter and in Garcia's case, tested by a fighter that was a world champion at all.
Garcia is the naturally larger fighter but other than his seventh-round knockout of former contender Luke Campbell in which Campbell knocked down Garcia in the second round, and his last victory over former minor titleist Javier Fortuna via sixth-round KO, Garcia hasn't fought anyone to be overly impressed with.
Davis is touted as a three-division champion but his titles at lightweight and junior welterweight were minor titles with only his IBF junior lightweight reign considered a true world title.
It was that title-winning fight that might be the best career win for Davis as he bulldozed Jose Pedraza in seven rounds in January 2017 or perhaps it could be his decision win over an unexpectedly difficult Isaac Cruz in December 2021 but other than those, Davis has either defeated puffed up smaller fighters like Leo Santa Cruz, who Davis knocked out in six with a highlight reel knockout, untested boxers such as Mario Barrios and Rolando Romero or faded former stars like Yuriorkis Gamboa as his victims built a resume as a gate attraction and star but left his true quality unknown without a top-notch victory.
Still, Davis has faced a higher quality of opposition and he hasn't been badly hurt in his victories, so he has an edge in that category, while Garcia does have some chin questions.
However, I have a feeling that Davis's style could be tailor-made for Garcia as while Davis isn't a crude brawler, he will have to get on the inside and come to Garcia which could keep him on the end of Garcia's power punches.
The problem for Garcia is that I think Davis has a better chin and that could be the difference in the battle with Davis possibly having to come from behind on the scorecards to score a knockout.
The co-feature pits minor beltholder David Morrell in a super middleweight bout against Yamaguchi Falcao, who is taking the fight on short notice.
Morrell has looked extremely impressive in his short career against not-quite-world-class opponents and looks for another strong outing against Falcao, a former Olympic bronze medalist that has never fought a contender in his nine-year pro career.
In a super middleweight rematch, Bektemir "Bek The Bully" Melikuziev attempts to avenge his only loss in a rematch against aging veteran Gabriel Rosado.
Melikuziev was dominating Rosado through two and a half rounds when Melikuziev advanced to try to finish a hurt Rosado and ran into a Rosado right that felled Melikuziev and ended the 2021 fight.
Rosado has lost all three of his fights since the upset win and Melikuziev has won all of his bouts, so Melikuziev should again be heavily favored.
Earlier Saturday on DAZN and Matchroom from Cardiff, Wales, Joe Cordina will attempt to regain the title that he never lost as he challenges IBF junior lightweight champion Shavkat Rakhimov from Cordina's home base.
Cordina knocked out Kenichi Ogawa to win the title in two rounds last June but broke his hand training for his fall battle with Rakhimov in a mandatory defense.
The IBF stripped Cordina of the title but stipulated that he would receive a title opportunity when he was healthy, while Rahkimov knocked out Brit Zelfa Barrett in nine rounds to earn the championship.
I think this one should be not only close but it could be action-packed to boot.
Boxing Challenge
No comments:
Post a Comment