The world of combat sports is slowing waking up from its holidays slumbers. The first big boxing match of the year is upon us this weekend with Gervonta Davis defending his WBA (regular) lightweight title against Hector Luis Garcia.
The fight is a big one only because of the inclusion of Davis, who is one of the top pound for pound talents in the world. The undefeated lightweight is expected to cruise through this fight to set up a far more compelling contest against the undefeated Ryan Garcia.
This fight is going ahead despite Davis’ ongoing legal issues. Davis is due in court next month to answer 14 charges pertaining to a suspected hit and run incident, where his SUV slammed into a car holding four people (including a pregnant woman). Earlier this month a woman accused Davis of trying to kill her. That lead to a domestic violence charge and a police report accusing Davis of slapping that woman in the face. However, the 911 caller has since claimed that Davis did not hurt her during this incident.
So there’s a lot of baggage going into this fight. Frankly, with the fight likely to be a squash match, the most interesting thing to happen here could be Davis’ post-fight interview (if he’s asked about his very recent run ins with the law).
Bout Order
Main Card (9 p.m. ET on Showtime PPV)
Lightweight: Gervonta Davis def. Hector Luis Garcia by TKO (Retirement, says he couldn’t see), R9
Welterweight: Jaron Ennis def. Karen Chukhadzhian by Unanimous Decision (120-108, 120-108, 120-108)
Welterweight: Roiman Villa def. Rashidi Ellis by Majority Decision (113-113, 114-112, 114-112)
Super middleweight: Demetrius Andrade def. Demond Nicholson by Unanimous Decision (100-88, 100-88, 100-88)
Prelims (6:45 p.m. ET on YouTube)
Middleweight: Vito Mielnicki Jr def. Omar Rosales via TKO, round 4 (0:26).
Junior welterweight: Brandun Lee def. Diego Luque via TKO, round 4 (2:55)
Junior middleweight: Travon Marshall def. Shawn West via TKO, round 1 (0:50)
Tickets
Tickets at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. are available here.
Live Stream
Davis vs. Garcia will air on television via Showtime Sports PPV and cost $74.99. The Showtime app can be used to stream Showtime content on TV streaming services Amazon FireTV, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, XBOX One and smart TVs from LG and Samsung.
The Showtime app can also be installed on Apple, Android and Amazon mobile devices.
Live news, updates and round-by-round commentary is available here on Bloody Elbow.