Tank Davis Overpowers and Knocks Out Ryan Garcia

By Anthony “Stacks” Saldaña

Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nevada, in front of an electrified sold-out crowd of 20,842 the celebrity filled T-Mobile arena saw Gervonta “Tank” Davis (28-0, 27 KOs) and Ryan “King Ryan” Garcia (23-1, 19 KOs) battle it out in a fight that had “Tank” dropping Garcia midway through the 2nd. The first knockdown came as Davis countered a missed left hook from Garcia and placed a perfectly timed left hook of his own on the face of Garcia. Davis continued to study Garcia before connecting with a devastating left hook to the body in the 7th. Garcia took a knee and at the 1:44 mark of the round referee Thomas Taylor reached the count of 10, giving Gervonta Davis the knockout victory. “I was excited, excited to be part of this event. I remember coming up in the golden gloves and I seen Floyd fight and it was crazy and I was like it was going to be one day, but the job isn’t done until I retire. So I’m just going to keep my head down and stay humble.”

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 23: Gervonta Davis vs Ryan Garcia at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

in the Co-Main event of the night, two of boxings top Super Middleweights met in the ring for the WBA title as the heavy hitting Cuban David Morrell Jr. (9-0, 8 KOs) defended his crown as he completely obliterated the Brazilian Olympian, Yamaguchi Falcao (24-2-1, 10 KOs) in less then a round. Morrell fired off punches with bad intentions hurting Falcao several times early and often. Morrell landed a big combination halfway through the first putting Falcao into the ropes which lead to the referee Celestino Ruiz to call it a technical knockdown. Morrell continued the punishment before landing a vicious two punch combination knocking Falcao completely out at the 2:22 mark of the first round. After the fight Morrell said “I’m so excited. This was a big moment and a big night for me, so a knockout in the first round is incredible. But this is boxing. First round, second round, I’m not worried when the knockout comes but I got it in the first round. I think this is the best moment of my career tonight. It was a big event and a big name. I want to fight the best in the division. Much respect to Yamaguchi. I’m glad he’s okay. He’s a good guy and a good boxer.” When Morrell was asked what was next he stated. “David Benavidez is next. Where is he? I want to fight Benavidez, man. He’s next, 100 percent. I don’t want any other guys at 168 pounds. Just Benavidez. I respect Benavidez and his team, but inside the ring, I don’t respect nothing.”

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 23: David Morrell Jr vs Yamaguchi Falcao at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Also on the card Bektemir “Bek the Bully” Melikuziev (11-1, 9 KOs) avenged the only loss of his career when he defeated and retired “King” Gabriel Rosado (26-17-1, 15 KOs). In a fight that many believed would bring heavy action by Melikuziev. Well that turned out to be the exact opposite for most of a fight that lacked any real entertainment. It was a fight that filled the T-Mobile Arena with boos, and fight that had Rosado only landing 55 punches the entire fight. Melikuziev did control fight much of the bout using selective combination punching, and hard body shots, as Rosado never got going. After the final bell Melikuziev walked away with a unanimous decision victory as all three judges returned with the same score card of 99-91 in his favor. “This was the fight that I wanted. This is the fight that I felt like I made a mistake in the first one, and I had this opportunity for revenge on such a big card. It’s a pleasure for me.” Stated Melikuziev. “In the first fight against Rosado, I underestimated my opponent. This time, we put the work in during camp. We went through everything. This time, the goal was to showcase my skills, box and punish him as much as possible too.” After the fight“King” Rosado stated “I tried, but I was a step behind. Father Time, eighteen years as a pro, but I was game. I walked to him, I boxed him, I tried everything but I was a step too slow. I was a split-second behind. He’s fresh, he’s young and I’m happy for him. I knocked him out bad in the first fight and he made adjustments. I don’t make any excuses. I was ready. Now it’s time to wrap it up and give my knowledge to younger fighters with management and training. I want to share my experience with them, and maybe do some more commentating.”

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 23: Gabe Rosado vs Bektemir Melikuziev at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

To kick off the PPV portion of the night the 19 year old undefeated knockout artist Elijah Garcia (14-0, 12 KOs) continued his winning ways as he had to bang out a hard fought victory over Kevin Salgado Jr. (15-2-1, 10 KOs) in the opening rounds Salgado used heavy pressure and landed several hard shots on Garcia. By the third round and after an unintentional head-but that busted open the nose of Garcia the young undefeated fighter began to use his jab, combinations and overall better ring generalship to take control of the action. Then in 7th before nearly being dropped by a body shot from Garcia, Salgado was deducted a point for intentional low blows. Garcia kept his distance and continued to outbox Salgado and after 12 solid rounds of boxing, the judges returned with the scores of 95-94, 97-92 (twice) all in favor of the WBC Latino and WBC Intercontinental Champion Elijah Garcia. After the fight Garcia stated “I was standing a little too still trying to fight on the inside. Salgado is a tough opponent. He was real tough, real strong and I just had to move and box a little bit. Other than that, it was a good, hard 10 rounds. I give my opponent 100 percent props. I stayed in shape one hundred percent after my last fight. Back-to-back camps, and not only that, but I made boxing a lifestyle. I’m always in the gym, eating good and doing the best I can to stay healthy.I just have to continue getting better in the gym every single day. That’s what it’s about. I learned a lot today. It was my first time going past six rounds and I got the full 10. The fights like this will get me closer to a world title. It feels great to get this win on a big stage. I feel like I’m getting better with each fight. I know I have a long way to go, but I like where I’m at. I’m hoping to get right back in the ring soon.”

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 23: Elijah Garcia vs Kevin Salgado at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In the early prelims “White Magic” Vito Mielnicki Jr. (15-1, 10 KOs) came away victorious as he made quick work of Jose Sanchez Charles (20-4-1, 12 KOs) of Reynosa, Mexico, knocking him out at the 33 second mark of the 4th round.

Additionally middleweight Fiodor Czerkaszyn (22-0, 14 KOs) remained undefeated with a stellar performance over the Mexican Veteran Elías Espadas (22-5, 15 KOs) Czerkaszyn took control of the fight from the opening bell and used his affective aggression to easily capture the 22nd win of his career as the referee called a halt to the bout at the 2:07 mark of the 9th round.