Tag: Hector Luis Garcia

Pound for pound: Did Artur Beterbiev do enough to climb list?

Pound for pound: Did Artur Beterbiev do enough to climb Boxing Junkie’s list?

Artur Beterbiev did his thing against Anthony Yarde this past Saturday in London, breaking down and then stopping the title challenger in the eighth round.

That’s 19 knockouts in 19 fights for the Russian-Canadian, a remarkable statistic by any standard.

But was Beterbiev’s latest stoppage enough to lift the No. 12-ranked fighter higher on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list?

No, because of Yarde’s limitations. But an opportunity to a make a significant leap could lie ahead.

Beterbiev and No. 5-ranked Dmitry Bivol have expressed interest in fighting one another for the undisputed 175-pound championship, which would be one of the best possible matchups in the sport.

If that fight happens and Beterbiev wins, he would certainly crack the Top 10 barring unusual circumstances. And he would do it 38 years old if it happens this year, which would be unusual.

Let’s hope boxing politics don’t stand in the way of a wonderful matchup.

Next pound-for-pounder up: Honorable Mention David Benavidez, who is scheduled to face Caleb Plant on March 25.

Here’s what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – No fight scheduled.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – The 147-pound titleholder reportedly is set to fight Keith Thurman at 154 pounds in April but no official announcement has been made.
  5. Dmitry Bivol – No fight scheduled.
  6. Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
  7. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  8. Canelo Alvarez– No fight scheduled.
  9. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  10. Gervonta Davis – Reportedly in talks to face Ryan Garcia in a 136-pound bout on April 15.
  11. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Reportedly in talks to challenge undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney but no official announcement has been made.
  12. Artur Beterbiev – No fight scheduled.
  13. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled.
  14. Roman Gonzalez – No fight scheduled.
  15. Devin Haney – Reportedly in talks to defend his undisputed lightweight championship against Vasiliy Lomachenko but no official announcement has been made..

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (scheduled to fight Caleb Plant on March 25); Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Stephen Fulton Jr. (no fight scheduled); Kazuto Ioka (no fight scheduled); Josh Taylor (scheduled to defend his WBO junior welterweight title in a rematch with Jack Catterall on Feb. 4 in Glasgow, Scotland).

Pound for pound: Did Artur Beterbiev do enough to climb list?

Pound for pound: Did Artur Beterbiev do enough to climb Boxing Junkie’s list?

Artur Beterbiev did his thing against Anthony Yarde this past Saturday in London, breaking down and then stopping the title challenger in the eighth round.

That’s 19 knockouts in 19 fights for the Russian-Canadian, a remarkable statistic by any standard.

But was Beterbiev’s latest stoppage enough to lift the No. 12-ranked fighter higher on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list?

No, because of Yarde’s limitations. But an opportunity to a make a significant leap could lie ahead.

Beterbiev and No. 5-ranked Dmitry Bivol have expressed interest in fighting one another for the undisputed 175-pound championship, which would be one of the best possible matchups in the sport.

If that fight happens and Beterbiev wins, he would certainly crack the Top 10 barring unusual circumstances. And he would do it 38 years old if it happens this year, which would be unusual.

Let’s hope boxing politics don’t stand in the way of a wonderful matchup.

Next pound-for-pounder up: Honorable Mention David Benavidez, who is scheduled to face Caleb Plant on March 25.

Here’s what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – No fight scheduled.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – The 147-pound titleholder reportedly is set to fight Keith Thurman at 154 pounds in April but no official announcement has been made.
  5. Dmitry Bivol – No fight scheduled.
  6. Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
  7. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  8. Canelo Alvarez– No fight scheduled.
  9. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  10. Gervonta Davis – Reportedly in talks to face Ryan Garcia in a 136-pound bout on April 15.
  11. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Reportedly in talks to challenge undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney but no official announcement has been made.
  12. Artur Beterbiev – No fight scheduled.
  13. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled.
  14. Roman Gonzalez – No fight scheduled.
  15. Devin Haney – Reportedly in talks to defend his undisputed lightweight championship against Vasiliy Lomachenko but no official announcement has been made..

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (scheduled to fight Caleb Plant on March 25); Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Stephen Fulton Jr. (no fight scheduled); Kazuto Ioka (no fight scheduled); Josh Taylor (scheduled to defend his WBO junior welterweight title in a rematch with Jack Catterall on Feb. 4 in Glasgow, Scotland).

Pound for pound: Did Gervonta Davis do enough to climb list?

Pound for pound: Did Gervonta Davis do enough to climb list?

Lightweight contender Gervonta Davis delivered another knockout Saturday in Washington, D.C., this one a ninth-round stoppage of previously unbeaten Hector Luis Garcia.

The victory underscored what more and more observers believe about “Tank”: that he’s one of the best in the business.

But was his performance enough to lift Davis – No. 10 going into the fight – higher on the pound-for-pound list?

No.

Garcia was hot, having outpointed Chris Colbert and then Roger Gutierrez to win a junior lightweight title last year. However, he moved up in weight to face Davis, which made an already difficult challenge almost impossible and limited the significance of the victory.

So Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) stays put … for now.

He and Ryan Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs) have agreed to meet at a catch weight of 136 pounds in April. This Garcia isn’t on the pound-for-pound list but he’s a highly respected all-around fighter with Davis-like punching power.

Also, Ryan Garcia might be naturally bigger than Davis. His last two fights were at junior welterweight, a weight at which Davis has fought once.

A victory over Davis’ fellow social media star would carry more weight than his victory over Hector Garcia, although there are no guarantees that we’ll see any movement under any circumstances.

First, let’s see whether Davis and Ryan Garcia actually face one another. And then let’s see how the fight plays out.

Next pound-for-pounder up? No. 12 Artur Beterbiev is scheduled to defend his three light heavyweight belts against unranked Anthony Yarde on Jan. 28 in London (ESPN+).

Here’s what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – No fight scheduled.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  5. Dmitry Bivol – No fight scheduled.
  6. Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
  7. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  8. Canelo Alvarez– No fight scheduled.
  9. Jermell Charlo – Junior middleweight champion’s defense against Tim Tszyu on Jan. 28 was postponed after Charlo broke his hand.
  10. Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
  11. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Reportedly in talks to challenge undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney but no official announcement has been made.
  12. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his light heavyweight titles against Anthony Yarde on Jan. 28 in London.
  13. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled.
  14. Roman Gonzalez – No fight scheduled.
  15. Devin Haney – Reportedly in talks to defend his undisputed lightweight championship against Vasiliy Lomachenko but no official announcement has been made..

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (reportedly has reached an agreement to fight Caleb Plant early next year but no official announcement has been made); Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Stephen Fulton Jr. (no fight scheduled); Kazuto Ioka (no fight scheduled); Josh Taylor (scheduled to defend his WBO junior welterweight title in a rematch with Jack Catterall on Feb. 4 in Glasgow, Scotland).

Pound for pound: Did Gervonta Davis do enough to climb list?

Pound for pound: Did Gervonta Davis do enough to climb list?

Lightweight contender Gervonta Davis delivered another knockout Saturday in Washington, D.C., this one a ninth-round stoppage of previously unbeaten Hector Luis Garcia.

The victory underscored what more and more observers believe about “Tank”: that he’s one of the best in the business.

But was his performance enough to lift Davis – No. 10 going into the fight – higher on the pound-for-pound list?

No.

Garcia was hot, having outpointed Chris Colbert and then Roger Gutierrez to win a junior lightweight title last year. However, he moved up in weight to face Davis, which made an already difficult challenge almost impossible and limited the significance of the victory.

So Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) stays put … for now.

He and Ryan Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs) have agreed to meet at a catch weight of 136 pounds in April. This Garcia isn’t on the pound-for-pound list but he’s a highly respected all-around fighter with Davis-like punching power.

Also, Ryan Garcia might be naturally bigger than Davis. His last two fights were at junior welterweight, a weight at which Davis has fought once.

A victory over Davis’ fellow social media star would carry more weight than his victory over Hector Garcia, although there are no guarantees that we’ll see any movement under any circumstances.

First, let’s see whether Davis and Ryan Garcia actually face one another. And then let’s see how the fight plays out.

Next pound-for-pounder up? No. 12 Artur Beterbiev is scheduled to defend his three light heavyweight belts against unranked Anthony Yarde on Jan. 28 in London (ESPN+).

Here’s what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – No fight scheduled.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  5. Dmitry Bivol – No fight scheduled.
  6. Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
  7. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  8. Canelo Alvarez– No fight scheduled.
  9. Jermell Charlo – Junior middleweight champion’s defense against Tim Tszyu on Jan. 28 was postponed after Charlo broke his hand.
  10. Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
  11. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Reportedly in talks to challenge undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney but no official announcement has been made.
  12. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his light heavyweight titles against Anthony Yarde on Jan. 28 in London.
  13. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled.
  14. Roman Gonzalez – No fight scheduled.
  15. Devin Haney – Reportedly in talks to defend his undisputed lightweight championship against Vasiliy Lomachenko but no official announcement has been made..

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (reportedly has reached an agreement to fight Caleb Plant early next year but no official announcement has been made); Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Stephen Fulton Jr. (no fight scheduled); Kazuto Ioka (no fight scheduled); Josh Taylor (scheduled to defend his WBO junior welterweight title in a rematch with Jack Catterall on Feb. 4 in Glasgow, Scotland).

Weekend Review: Gervonta Davis delivered once again after difficult camp

Weekend Review: Gervonta Davis delivered once again against Hector Luis Garcia after a difficult training camp.

A critical look at the past week in boxing

BIGGEST WINNER

Gervonta Davis – “Tank” needed a win after a difficult training camp. And he delivered a beauty, forcing previously unbeaten Hector Luis Garcia to quit on his stool after eight rounds of a scheduled 12-round 135-pound fight Saturday in Washington, D.C. The hard-punching lightweight contender landed more and more damaging punches as the fight progressed until his capable opponent could take no more, Davis’ 18th knockout in his last 19 fights. And now he appears set for the biggest fight in his career, a showdown with fellow social media star Ryan Garcia this spring. Things couldn’t be better inside the ring. Outside it? Well, Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) was arrested and briefly jailed on allegations he struck the mother of his daughter on Dec. 27, accusations the woman later recanted. Still, he knows he has to watch himself. “I have to bring my people in close and listen to my close ones, listen to [manager] Al Haymon and just stay focused,” he said. If he can, the 28-year-old from Baltimore could end up as the face of the sport.

BIGGEST WINNER II

Roiman Villa – Slick Rashidi Ellis appeared to be on his way to a one-sided victory over his game, but limited opponent halfway through their welterweight bout on the Davis-Garcia card. Then Villa (26-1, 24 KOs) demonstrated that anything is possible if you persevere. The undeterrable slugger, upping his pressure on Ellis, began to land hard punches around the seventh round and turned the tide in dramatic fashion as a result to pull out a stunning majority-decision victory. And he saved his best for last, putting Ellis down twice in a memorable 12th and final round. That proved to the difference on the cards. One judge scored it a 113-113 draw but the other two gave Villa the nod by the same score, 114-112. Villa was among the few who weren’t surprised. “I know that fighters such as him who are quick sooner or later will get a little tired,” he said, “and that’s what I took advantage of.” Thus, he went from relative unknown to a player in one of the sport’s glamour divisions over night.

BIGGEST LOSER

Hector Garcia – Garcia (16-1, 10 KOs) was a longshot against Davis for a reason. Not only was he face to face with one of the best fighters in the world pound for pound but he had moved up in weight for the privilege, which made his mission nearly impossible. Still, the setback had to be difficult for the Dominican swallow. He entered the ring with tremendous momentum after upsetting Chris Colbert and defeating Roger Gutierrez to win a 130-pound title last year, with made him a Fighter of the Year candidate. Then it was over in an instant. Davis hurt him with a left to the side of the head late in Round 8, after which he complained as he sat on his stool that he couldn’t see. And that’s where he stayed, becoming just another victim on Davis’ growing list. Garcia will probably go back down to 130, where he could defend his title and face opponents with whom he could actually compete.

BIGGEST LOSER II

Rashidi Ellis – Ellis (24-1, 15 KOs) had everything going for him. He has natural gifts and refined skills, which seemed to be leading him toward a fight for one 147-pound title or another in the near future. And then Villa changed his trajectory. Ellis said afterward that he thought he had done enough to earn the victory. And he might’ve been right. I scored it 114-112 in his favor. However, the judges saw it differently and suddenly he had the first loss in his career. Where does he go from here? One, he needs to figure out what he could’ve done differently in the second half of the fight to prevent that from happening again. And, two, he should follow through on his desire to face Villa again if it’s possible. There’s no better way to make people forget about a disappointing setback than avenging it. And he’s capable of doing that.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Jaron Ennis vs. Karen Chukhadzhian: Ennis (30-0, 27 KOs) was a victim of his own lofty standards against Karen Chukhadzhian (21-2, 11 KOs) on the Davis-Garcia card. The welterweight contender had stopped his previous 19 opponents, the kind of streak that leads you to assume that you’ll see a spectacular stoppage every time he fights. That didn’t happen on Saturday. Most of the blame falls on Chukhadzhian, who was more interested in surviving than taking the risks necessary to win the fight. And when a fighter as skillful and athletic as he is decides to survive, it’s extremely difficult for anyone to stop him. Ennis also is to blame. It’s part of his job to find a way to cut off the ring if his opponent runs; he couldn’t do that, which gives him something to work on in the gym. All that said, Ennis deserves credit: He won every round on all three cards. That’s a terrific night by normal standards.

MOST PREDICTABLE

Demetrius Andrade’s victory: New manager, new division, same result. Andrade, who is now handled by Premiere Boxing Champions, demonstrated in a shutout decision over Demond Nicholson (26-5-1, 22 KOs) in his 168-pound debut on the Davis-Garcia card that he still has it at 34-year-old and can be a factor at super middleweight. If there was a flaw in his performance it was that he couldn’t stop an opponent he dominated even though Nicholson engaged him enough for him to do so. However, that’s par for the course for Andrade, who typically starts quickly and then cruises to a wide decision victory. That formula isn’t exciting but it’s effective. Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) is thought of as one of the most avoided elite boxers. I can’t imagine any of the top 168-pounders is going to be in a hurry to face him after his performance on Saturday night.

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Weekend Review: Gervonta Davis delivered once again after difficult camp

Weekend Review: Gervonta Davis delivered once again against Hector Luis Garcia after a difficult training camp.

A critical look at the past week in boxing

BIGGEST WINNER

Gervonta Davis – “Tank” needed a win after a difficult training camp. And he delivered a beauty, forcing previously unbeaten Hector Luis Garcia to quit on his stool after eight rounds of a scheduled 12-round 135-pound fight Saturday in Washington, D.C. The hard-punching lightweight contender landed more and more damaging punches as the fight progressed until his capable opponent could take no more, Davis’ 18th knockout in his last 19 fights. And now he appears set for the biggest fight in his career, a showdown with fellow social media star Ryan Garcia this spring. Things couldn’t be better inside the ring. Outside it? Well, Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) was arrested and briefly jailed on allegations he struck the mother of his daughter on Dec. 27, accusations the woman later recanted. Still, he knows he has to watch himself. “I have to bring my people in close and listen to my close ones, listen to [manager] Al Haymon and just stay focused,” he said. If he can, the 28-year-old from Baltimore could end up as the face of the sport.

BIGGEST WINNER II

Roiman Villa – Slick Rashidi Ellis appeared to be on his way to a one-sided victory over his game, but limited opponent halfway through their welterweight bout on the Davis-Garcia card. Then Villa (26-1, 24 KOs) demonstrated that anything is possible if you persevere. The undeterrable slugger, upping his pressure on Ellis, began to land hard punches around the seventh round and turned the tide in dramatic fashion as a result to pull out a stunning majority-decision victory. And he saved his best for last, putting Ellis down twice in a memorable 12th and final round. That proved to the difference on the cards. One judge scored it a 113-113 draw but the other two gave Villa the nod by the same score, 114-112. Villa was among the few who weren’t surprised. “I know that fighters such as him who are quick sooner or later will get a little tired,” he said, “and that’s what I took advantage of.” Thus, he went from relative unknown to a player in one of the sport’s glamour divisions over night.

BIGGEST LOSER

Hector Garcia – Garcia (16-1, 10 KOs) was a longshot against Davis for a reason. Not only was he face to face with one of the best fighters in the world pound for pound but he had moved up in weight for the privilege, which made his mission nearly impossible. Still, the setback had to be difficult for the Dominican swallow. He entered the ring with tremendous momentum after upsetting Chris Colbert and defeating Roger Gutierrez to win a 130-pound title last year, with made him a Fighter of the Year candidate. Then it was over in an instant. Davis hurt him with a left to the side of the head late in Round 8, after which he complained as he sat on his stool that he couldn’t see. And that’s where he stayed, becoming just another victim on Davis’ growing list. Garcia will probably go back down to 130, where he could defend his title and face opponents with whom he could actually compete.

BIGGEST LOSER II

Rashidi Ellis – Ellis (24-1, 15 KOs) had everything going for him. He has natural gifts and refined skills, which seemed to be leading him toward a fight for one 147-pound title or another in the near future. And then Villa changed his trajectory. Ellis said afterward that he thought he had done enough to earn the victory. And he might’ve been right. I scored it 114-112 in his favor. However, the judges saw it differently and suddenly he had the first loss in his career. Where does he go from here? One, he needs to figure out what he could’ve done differently in the second half of the fight to prevent that from happening again. And, two, he should follow through on his desire to face Villa again if it’s possible. There’s no better way to make people forget about a disappointing setback than avenging it. And he’s capable of doing that.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Jaron Ennis vs. Karen Chukhadzhian: Ennis (30-0, 27 KOs) was a victim of his own lofty standards against Karen Chukhadzhian (21-2, 11 KOs) on the Davis-Garcia card. The welterweight contender had stopped his previous 19 opponents, the kind of streak that leads you to assume that you’ll see a spectacular stoppage every time he fights. That didn’t happen on Saturday. Most of the blame falls on Chukhadzhian, who was more interested in surviving than taking the risks necessary to win the fight. And when a fighter as skillful and athletic as he is decides to survive, it’s extremely difficult for anyone to stop him. Ennis also is to blame. It’s part of his job to find a way to cut off the ring if his opponent runs; he couldn’t do that, which gives him something to work on in the gym. All that said, Ennis deserves credit: He won every round on all three cards. That’s a terrific night by normal standards.

MOST PREDICTABLE

Demetrius Andrade’s victory: New manager, new division, same result. Andrade, who is now handled by Premiere Boxing Champions, demonstrated in a shutout decision over Demond Nicholson (26-5-1, 22 KOs) in his 168-pound debut on the Davis-Garcia card that he still has it at 34-year-old and can be a factor at super middleweight. If there was a flaw in his performance it was that he couldn’t stop an opponent he dominated even though Nicholson engaged him enough for him to do so. However, that’s par for the course for Andrade, who typically starts quickly and then cruises to a wide decision victory. That formula isn’t exciting but it’s effective. Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) is thought of as one of the most avoided elite boxers. I can’t imagine any of the top 168-pounders is going to be in a hurry to face him after his performance on Saturday night.

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Gervonta Davis forces Hector Luis Garcia to quit on stool after eight rounds

Gervonta Davis forced Hector Luis Garcia to quit on his stool after eight rounds Saturday in Washington, D.C.

Gervonta Davis just needed some time. As usual.

The 135-pound contender received a spirited challenge from Hector Luis Garcia … for a while. Then he started landing his concussive power shots. And then it was over.

Davis stopped the 130-pound contender after eight rounds Saturday night at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., to set up a super fight with Ryan Garcia, possibly in April.

The official time of the stoppage was 13 seconds into Round 9 but Garcia, badly hurt and unable to see clearly, refused to get off his stool after he took a beating in Round 8.

https://twitter.com/ShowtimeBoxing/status/1611984079242543105

The judges had Davis winning by a wide margin after eight rounds, 79-73, 79-73 and 78-74. However, the fight was more competitive than that.

Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) took a few rounds to feel one another out and then delivered some entertaining back-and-forth exchanges, with Davis unable to separate completely from a well-schooled, tough opponent who just beaten Chris Colbert and Roger Gutierrez.

“Tank” did have an edge, though: The judges evidently were impressed by the cleaner, harder punches landed by Davis, which ultimately took the fight out of their hands.

Davis began to land punishing blows at a rate that was adding up to trouble for Garcia (16-1, 10 KOs) in the last few rounds, capped by a devastating Round 8.

The beginning of the end was an overhand left to the side of the head that wobbled Garcia in the final seconds of the frame, which apparently didn’t allow Davis enough time to finish the job.

However, the damage was done. Garcia sat on his stool after the round, yelling, “I can’t see! I can’t see!” And he decided it wouldn’t be wise to get up, which gave Davis a technical knockout and another spectacular victory.

“I was a little surprised,” said Davis, referring to Garcia’s decision to remain on his stool. “But when I caught him, I knew he was hurt, hurt bad. He’s a fighter, he didn’t want to show it, you know what I mean? He was hurt, though.”

It was an ideal ending to a difficult camp for Davis, who was arrested and jailed on Dec. 27 after the mother of his daughter told police he struck her in the face.

The woman recanted, later saying the fighter never harmed her. That took him off the hook and allowed the fight to take place.

Davis also is due in court on Feb. 16 on hit-and-run charges stemming from a 2021 incident in his native Baltimore, which could land him in prison if he’s convicted.

Of course, he was able to put his troubles aside for at least a moment after another satisfying victory in front of what amounted to a packed home crowd at Captial One Arena, which isn’t far from Baltimore. When he did a back flip off the top rope to celebrate his victory, legal woes were the last thing on his mind

And, if he avoids jail, he can look forward to the biggest — and most lucrative — fight of his career against fellow social media star Ryan Garcia, who is naturally bigger and punches much harder than Hector Garcia but undoubtedly would be a considerable underdog against Davis.

Davis has said the only one who can beat him is himself. That seems to be true every time he steps into the ring.

The 28-year-old was asked in a somber moment how he plans to avoid self destruction. He gave the right answer.

“I have to bring my people in close and listen to my close ones, listen to [manager] Al Haymon and just stay focused,” he said. “There’s a lot of bumps in the road but as long as we stay focused together … that’s how I’ll [have] longevity in the sport.”

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Gervonta Davis forces Hector Luis Garcia to quit on stool after eight rounds

Gervonta Davis forced Hector Luis Garcia to quit on his stool after eight rounds Saturday in Washington, D.C.

Gervonta Davis just needed some time. As usual.

The 135-pound contender received a spirited challenge from Hector Luis Garcia … for a while. Then he started landing his concussive power shots. And then it was over.

Davis stopped the 130-pound contender after eight rounds Saturday night at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., to set up a super fight with Ryan Garcia, possibly in April.

The official time of the stoppage was 13 seconds into Round 9 but Garcia, badly hurt and unable to see clearly, refused to get off his stool after he took a beating in Round 8.

https://twitter.com/ShowtimeBoxing/status/1611984079242543105

The judges had Davis winning by a wide margin after eight rounds, 79-73, 79-73 and 78-74. However, the fight was more competitive than that.

Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) took a few rounds to feel one another out and then delivered some entertaining back-and-forth exchanges, with Davis unable to separate completely from a well-schooled, tough opponent who just beaten Chris Colbert and Roger Gutierrez.

“Tank” did have an edge, though: The judges evidently were impressed by the cleaner, harder punches landed by Davis, which ultimately took the fight out of their hands.

Davis began to land punishing blows at a rate that was adding up to trouble for Garcia (16-1, 10 KOs) in the last few rounds, capped by a devastating Round 8.

The beginning of the end was an overhand left to the side of the head that wobbled Garcia in the final seconds of the frame, which apparently didn’t allow Davis enough time to finish the job.

However, the damage was done. Garcia sat on his stool after the round, yelling, “I can’t see! I can’t see!” And he decided it wouldn’t be wise to get up, which gave Davis a technical knockout and another spectacular victory.

“I was a little surprised,” said Davis, referring to Garcia’s decision to remain on his stool. “But when I caught him, I knew he was hurt, hurt bad. He’s a fighter, he didn’t want to show it, you know what I mean? He was hurt, though.”

It was an ideal ending to a difficult camp for Davis, who was arrested and jailed on Dec. 27 after the mother of his daughter told police he struck her in the face.

The woman recanted, later saying the fighter never harmed her. That took him off the hook and allowed the fight to take place.

Davis also is due in court on Feb. 16 on hit-and-run charges stemming from a 2021 incident in his native Baltimore, which could land him in prison if he’s convicted.

Of course, he was able to put his troubles aside for at least a moment after another satisfying victory in front of what amounted to a packed home crowd at Captial One Arena, which isn’t far from Baltimore. When he did a back flip off the top rope to celebrate his victory, legal woes were the last thing on his mind

And, if he avoids jail, he can look forward to the biggest — and most lucrative — fight of his career against fellow social media star Ryan Garcia, who is naturally bigger and punches much harder than Hector Garcia but undoubtedly would be a considerable underdog against Davis.

Davis has said the only one who can beat him is himself. That seems to be true every time he steps into the ring.

The 28-year-old was asked in a somber moment how he plans to avoid self destruction. He gave the right answer.

“I have to bring my people in close and listen to my close ones, listen to [manager] Al Haymon and just stay focused,” he said. “There’s a lot of bumps in the road but as long as we stay focused together … that’s how I’ll [have] longevity in the sport.”

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Jaron Ennis goes the distance to beat Karen Chukhadzhian

Knockout artist Jaron Ennis had to go the distance to beat Karen Chukhadzhian on Saturday in Washington, D.C.

Jaron Ennis didn’t get a knockout but his victory was decisive on the Gervonta Davis-Hector Luis Garcia card Saturday in Washington, D.C.

The hard-punching welterweight contender defeated a reluctant Karen Chukhadzhian by a shutout decision in a 12-round bout, which snapped Ennis’ knockout streak at 19.

All three judges scored it 120-108, 12 round to none. Boxing Junkie had Ennis winning 119-109.

“We come here to dominate,” he said. “I feel like I could have thrown more punches. I should stop that guy and that’s on me. I wanted him to engage but we did what we could.”

Ennis (30-0, 27 KOs) stalked Chukadzhian (21-2, 11 KOs) the entire fight and landed many more punches than the Ukrainian did.

However, Chukadzhian, a clever, athletic boxer, was more committed to surviving than winning, which made it difficult for Ennis to score another stoppage.

Ennis would land a punch, maybe two — some of them hard — and then Chukadzhian used his quick feet to run from further trouble. Plus, Chukadzhian took Ennis’ best shots.

That was the story of the fight.

Chukadzhian stood his ground on occasion, landing eye-catching shots here and there, but he didn’t do enough to win a single round on the judges’ scorecards.

Of course, Ennis had hoped to make a stronger statement on the high-profile card but he won convincingly and took another step toward his first title shot.

“Everyone knows that I want [unified titleholder] Errol Spence and the winner of Virgil Ortiz and [Eimantas] Stanionis, you know, all the top guys. Let’s get it, you know?

“I’ll wait until the time is right and [Spence] is ready.”