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For Hector Luis Garcia (16-0), being a heavy underdog isn’t anything new. He is currently listed as a 12.5-1 underdog by MGM to Gervonta “Tank” Davis for their January 7th Showtime pay-per-view showdown that takes place in Washington, DC.
While 12.5-1 is a sizable betting spread, it isn’t anything compared to the 50-1 long shot he was listed as by some sport books for his February fight he took against the previously unbeaten Chris Colbert on short notice. Garcia dropped Colbert and won most of the rounds in route to a dominant points victory.
He followed up that performance with a wide unanimous decision victory over Roger Gutierrez in Florida this past August to capture the WBA super featherweight title.
When he steps in the ring against Davis, he will have the same mind set.
“It doesn’t matter to me what the odds say. I know that a lot of money has been made betting on me and that will happen again on January 7th. Me and Bob Santos will be ready for anything,” Garcia said with a chuckle.
Davis has been outboxed in some of his fights but the three-division champion is one of the hardest hitters pound-for-pound in the sport and has used that power to win via knockout in 25 of his 27 career fights.
The Dominican Republic’s Garcia believes that his skillset is diverse enough to match anything Davis brings to the table.
“I’ve been in the ring with heavy hitters, slick boxers, guys with speed, you name it,” Garcia told BoxingScene.com. “I have taken some big shots but handled it just fine. I respect Davis’ power and his skills – but everything that he can do I can do it and even better. At the end of the night it will be me with my hand getting raised.”
Garcia trains in Las Vegas alongside Carlos Adames, Alberto Puello, Lenier Pero, and Erick Rosa among others in Santos’ growing stable of fighters.
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