The landscape has shifted since Gervonta “Tank” Davis told Ryan Garcia to sign the rehydration clause if he wanted a fight. Now Tank will have to play by Garcia’s rules if he wants a rematch.
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It’s been three years since Garcia lost to Tank. After the Devin Haney fiasco and the comeback loss to Rolando “Rolly” Romero, he finally rebounded with a title win over Mario Barrios in February this year. With last week’s statement win over Conor Benn, Garcia has cemented his place as the face of American boxing. It came as no surprise, therefore, when Tank’s team reached for a fight. Garcia outlined his condition.
“I can confirm Gervonta and Al (Haymon) have contacted my team,” he wrote. “147 or nothing. And I want him to get a tune-up fight and be at his best when we fight. He has some stuff to handle, but we forsure going to get it going on. LETS RUMBLE 🥊🥊🥊.”
The tweet follows Garcia’s previous message, where he called out Tank. Claiming that the former WBA lightweight champion “doesn’t want the smoke,” Garcia argued that if he could go down to 136 pounds to fight him, then what stops the Baltimorean from facing him in his current weight class of 147 pounds?
Garcia made his position clear: “I need that if you want it. If not, there’s nothing to be said.”
Garcia later received a reply from Tank. Writing from his alleged “burner” account, MoneyTwofly, Tank said, “No lie for you, I’ll do 144…word, say it’s a bet!! And I’ll get this sh*t I’m going through out the way! Just give the word!!” Later, Tank added he had spoken to PBC head Al Haymon about the potential matchup.
A screenshot of the interaction, which Tank updated on his Instagram story, was shared on social media.
I can confirm Gervonta and Al have contacted my team. 147 or nothing And I want him to get a tune up fight and be at his best when we fight. He has some stuff to handle but we forsure going to get it going on LETS RUMBLE 🥊🥊🥊
Tank later shared a post after a user showed him a conversation between Garcia and Adrien Broner. While discussing a potential rematch with Tank, Garcia said, “But I would love my rematch at the right weight…So maybe 44…There’s no way I’m going down to 140…He got to come up to me sooner or later.”
The back-and-forth stems from the way the fight between Garcia and Tank unfolded three years ago. During the lead-up to the bout at the T-Mobile Arena on April 22, 2023, Garcia revealed that his contract had a rehydration clause that prevented him from weighing more than 146 pounds on the day of the fight. That is 10 pounds over the agreed catchweight of 136 pounds set for the fight.
Garcia lost the bout via seventh-round knockout.
Soon after the setback, while reflecting on a potential rematch, Garcia outlined that it could be possible at either 140 or 147 pounds.
Ryan Garcia and Gervonta Davis take different paths before a potential rematch
With no rematch materializing, Garcia started moving up. It began with the Oscar Duarte bout, which was fought at a 143-pound catchweight instead of the originally scheduled 140 pounds. The hugely controversial Devin Haney fight also took place at light-welterweight limits.
Making his comeback a year after the doping-related suspension, Garcia fought Romero at 147 pounds. The welterweight division therefore became his home.
Given these circumstances, it’s understandable why Garcia could be apprehensive about moving back down in weight.
There is another reason why, unlike in the past, Garcia is now calling the shots.
After the loss to Romero, he bounced back to become a champion and now looks forward to a title unification. On Saturday, as he celebrated his win over Benn, Garcia loudly announced that he wanted to face Teofimo Lopez.
Coming off a loss to Shakur Stevenson on January 31 this year, like Garcia, Lopez also made a turnaround by defeating Romero to become WBA title holder at 147 pounds.
With his stock now raised, it was reported that Ryan Garcia looked forward to a Cinco de Mayo doubleheader with David Benavidez. While he could face Lopez, Benavidez could fight Jai Opetaia, who defeated Noel Mikaelian in the co-main event of Garcia’s card.
Despite Tank making his case, it’s doubtful if he will risk moving up to 147 pounds. Though his title reign began at 130 pounds, Tank’s career has largely been at 135. There has been only one instance when he moved above the lightweight division, when, on June 26, 2021, he fought Mario Barrios for the WBA light welterweight title.
Add to that his personal problems that center around the legal challenges he currently faces.
What adds to the situation is that before he checked Garcia, Tank was reportedly in talks for a fight against Devin Haney, who holds the WBO title at 147 pounds. However, the matchup fizzled out after it appeared that Al Haymon had informed Bill Haney that Tank is not expected to make a return until first quarter 2027.
Tank, therefore, could be trying to build a rapport with Garcia just in case the Hany fight does not materialize once he returns.
Also, given that his last fight against Lamont Roach Jr., which happened on March 1, 2025, drew widespread criticism for the way he performed, Tank could view Garcia as a more familiar matchup given that he has already beaten him.