Hector Luis Garcia Ready To Face Toughest Challenge In Davis

Saturday night in Washington D.C. unbeaten, rising lightweight contender Hector Luis Garcia knows he’s in for the biggest challenge of his young career, when he meets multi-division world champ Gervonta Davis in a Showtime/PBC pay per view.

And, Garcia has made clear that he’s not just coming for a “good showing,” but that he intends to upset Davis and his future plans.

Garcia recently held a media workout prior to the scheduled 12 round showdown that will be for Davis secondary WBA 135 lb. title and he elaborated on the opportunity from the Showtime release of his quotes:

“Davis in my opinion is a top pound-for-pound fighter and one of the biggest punchers in boxing, so I know going into this fight that I’m an underdog. Not a lot of people are giving me a chance in this fight, but that’s what motivates me. I was in the same situation going into the Colbert fight, but this time I had a real training camp. I believe my style will give ‘Tank’ problems. I’m a southpaw with many tricks and I will be using all of them when I step in the ring on January 7.”

When asked what a win would do for his career?

“A victory against ‘Tank’ will solidify me as one of the best fighters in the world. I already believe that in my own mind, but the world will realize how good I am after this fight. I didn’t get here by myself. I want to thank my team for all their support. Getting this fight has changed my life forever, but winning it will do wonders for everyone on my team.”

A 2016 Olympian for his native Dominican Republic, Garcia (16-0, 10 KOs) burst onto the scene in 2022 with a triumph over Chris Colbert that many recognized as boxing’s Upset of the Year. The 31-year-old followed that up with a dominating decision victory over Roger Gutierrez to capture the 130-pound title in August, making him a top contender for 2022 Fighter of the Year.

As for Davis,  (27-0, 25 KOs), he’s due to make his fourth title defense against the Dominican Republic’s Garcia. This is despite Davis’ second arrest for domestic violence in just under three years coming just last week in Miami. Davis has been charged in this incident with one count of misdemeanor domestic violence on the mother of one of his children. She has since released a statement re-canting what she told a 911 operator and Broward County authorities when they arrived. That was that Davis slapped her a closed fist during a dispute, while she was trying to leave the location where they were.

Davis is free on $1,000 bond and has traveled to Washington D.C. for fight week. Another variable is that he already took this January fight despite having already agreed to an April 15 mega fight in Las Vegas on Showtime PPV with fellow star Ryan Garcia (no relation to Hector). That match is slated to be a non-title bout at 136 pounds.