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Gervonta Davis gave two reasons Wednesday why he thinks Ryan Garcia decided to skip what was supposed to be a tune-up fight against Mercito Gesta on January 28.
The unbeaten Baltimore native first suggested to a small group of reporters after an open workout that his rival could be using performance-enhancing drugs. Davis added that Garcia just might not have wanted to get down to 140 pounds or lower for a fight that could’ve helped keep him sharp prior to his showdown with Davis, who first must beat Hector Luis Garcia on January 7.
“I think a couple reasons,” Davis said following a workout at 5th Street Gym in Miami Beach, Florida. “I think that it could be him juicing. And, you know, when you juice, they be having off cycles and on cycles. That’s why I was pushing for the VADA [testing for our fight]. Either that, or he ain’t trying to beat his body up to get down to ’35 or ’40, and just wanna just, you know what I mean, stick around at his normal weight. And then once it’s time to fight me, then drop down. You know what I mean? So, it’s either that or him juicing.”
Garcia, 24, has never tested positive for a PED, but Davis is suspicious because of the way the young knockout artist’s body has developed in recent years.
“He look bigger than he actually been over the years,” Davis said. “Or maybe [he looks bigger] because he been drinking, too. I know he been drinking a lot. Either that, or he juicing for sure.”
When then asked about a reported incident during which Davis and Garcia had to be separated in September at a club in the Los Angeles area, Davis replied, “Yeah, he was drunk, slap drunk, when he came up to the table.”
The 28-year-old Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) is listed by Caesars Sportsbook as a 14-1 favorite to beat Hector Luis Garcia (16-0, 10 KOs, 3 NC) on January 7 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The Dominican Republic’s Garcia, who owns the WBA 130-pound championship, will challenge Davis for his secondary WBA 135-pound crown in their 12-round Showtime Pay-Per-View main event ($74.99).
Ryan Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs), of Victorville, California, last fought July 16. He dropped Dominican veteran Javier Fortuna (37-4-1, 26 KOs, 2 NC) three times before recording a sixth-round knockout at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Ryan Garcia would’ve been heavily favored to defeat Gesta (33-3-3, 17 KOs), a Filipino southpaw who has gone 1-1-1 in his past three fights.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.