Ryan Garcia admitted that Gervonta Davis “caught me good” with the body shot that ended their main event in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Davis, 28, stopped Garcia in the seventh round at the T-Mobile Arena, dropping the 24-year-old with a left hook to the midriff and leaving him unable to beat the referee’s count.
With the result, Davis stayed unbeaten as a professional (29-0, 27 knockouts), while Garcia suffered the first loss of his pro career (23-1, 19 KOs).
“It’s all love,” said a visibly disappointed Garcia after the stoppage. “I was honoured to be in the ring with a great fighter. You’re a good man, bro.
“He just caught me with a good shot, I don’t wanna make no excuses in here. I couldn’t recover, and that’s all I gotta say.
“He caught me good. I couldn’t breathe. I was gonna get back up, but I just couldn’t. I think I gave him too much respect in the ring, I think that was my downfall.”
Davis had also dropped Garcia in the second round, catching his fellow lightweight with a left hook to the head.
The WBA champion built a healthy lead as the fight neared its midway point, before Garcia – a former WBC interim champion – briefly rallied prior to the stoppage.
In the post-fight press conference, Garcia said: “I didn’t feel too good, I felt a little weak going into the ring; my legs didn’t feel too much under me. But once the fight got going, it kind of all came together. So, I can’t really pin [it on] that too much.”
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