Gervonta Davis names best fighter he has ever faced but still thinks he was 'a level above'

05/09/2024 13:02

Gervonta Davis paused for a moment before picking the best opponent he has ever faced.

The Baltimore banger has barely put a foot wrong during his unblemished 30-0 career so choosing the boxer who gave him the toughest test is no easy task.

The consensus pick among fans would be Isaac Cruz, who pushed Davis all the way to the final bell in December 2021.

But after pondering the question for a few seconds, Davis chose Ryan Garcia.

Speaking in the immediate aftermath of his seventh-round stoppage victory over ‘King Ry’ last year, he said: "I'd say he's the best fighter.

“Definitely, we was going off each other energy in there.

“We was actually talking in there. You know what I mean? It was fun.

“It was fun while it lasted. You know what I mean? I enjoyed every moment of it."

Davis’ pick may come as somewhat of a surprise considering the manner in which he dealt with his rival.

Garcia had his moments but he eventually succumbed to a sickening body shot knockout after falling behind on all three judges scorecards.

“I just felt like I was like a step, a level above him," Davis added.

"You know what I mean? So, everything he was doing in the ring, I was already aware of everything.

“I was already aware a couple steps before he did it.

“So, I was mostly calm and just let him make his mistakes and I just, you know, yeah, I countered off his mistakes."

After beating Garcia, Davis spent 44 days in prison for violating the terms of a sentence, which initially saw him avoid jail time.

In May last year, Davis was sentenced to 90 days of home detention, three years probation, and 200 hours of community service over his November 2020 hit-and-run car crash which injured four people.

‘Tank’ was later found guilty of violating the terms of his home detention by trying to serve the home detention order at the Four Seasons Hotel and a $3.4million penthouse, rather than trainer Calvin Ford’s house as the judge initially agreed.

As a result, he was ordered to serve the rest of his 90-day sentence in jail.

After his release, Davis returned to the ring against Frank Martin in June 2024 – a fight he won via eighth-round KO.

Consequently, Martin couldn’t be considered in Davis’ ‘toughest opponent’ debate, although he was far more complimentary about Garcia’s abilities than ‘The Ghost’s’.