Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia both came in comfortably under the 136lbs catchweight limit for their fight, on Saturday night, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
It’s not unthinkable that the intense heat outside of the arena where they will meet in a fight that could define their careers may have contributed to them doing so, but it was noticeable that they had attracted a significant crowd.
For the fight at the same venue last year between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Dmitrii Bivol there was a considerably flatter atmosphere generated by the fewer in attendance, even though Alvarez is regarded as the world’s highest profile fighter, is Mexican, and was fighting in Vegas on Cinco de Mayo weekend.
Among those present on Friday were none other than Mike Tyson and Riddick Bowe. Tyson, typically, was welcomed on stage by all, and with open arms. Bowe, 55, was content to be sat in front of the same stage among those not considered VIPs until someone sat alongside him encouraged him to move to join Tyson, Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins and more.
When he rose from his chair he couldn’t stand up straight, and he moved unconvincingly – and to the extent he was helped. Bowe and a friend wearing a “Baby Tyson” t-shirt moved to the front of those chairs and attempted to get the attention of “Iron Mike” and others. His apparent discomfort made it difficult to watch him waiting – particularly given that after five minutes he still hadn’t been seen.
Bowe would have required a pass of sorts to sit where he was until then, so there is little reason he couldn’t have been given the same freedom as Tyson. The same friend appeared to lead him in the direction of an exit with the intention of trying to get to the stage entrance, but Bowe, after shuffling away, never reappeared.
Garcia had looked drawn at Thursday’s final press conference, and while weighing in at 135.5lbs looked similarly dehydrated. After his weight was announced De La Hoya – whose career ended the night in 2008 he made the mistake of attempting to return to welterweight to fight Manny Pacquiao and therefore very aware of the importance of healthily making weight – looked beyond relieved.
If it was predictable that Davis, in many respects the classic bully, would do something to attempt to provoke Garcia – he shoved him when they faced off – it also came as little surprise that Hopkins was nearby when tempers frayed. A master of mind games while an active fighter, as Felix Trinidad and Jean Pascal, among others, can attest, Hopkins, of Garcia’s promoters GoldenBoy, would have had plenty of reason to attempt to get under Davis’ skin.
