Leonard Ellerbe says it was Ryan Garcia 23-0 (19) who made the fight against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis 28-0 (26) happen, not his promoter Oscar De La Hoya.
Ellerbe, who advises Baltimore southpaw Davis, credits Garcia for making the bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night.
“It was a little difficult,” Ellerbe said of negotiations on The MMA Hour. “Initially, Ryan agreed to everything. I give him credit, he agreed to everything, every term that we had sent over, he agreed to it… There was one stipulation in there, but other than that – and that kind of dragged out because it was a network thing – so that’s [Showtime executive] Stephen Espinoza’s area and we were able to work those details out.
“But it was a really good thing for these two young guys to come together and the timing couldn’t be better because they’re in the prime of their careers. And that’s very, very, very important… The time is now and that’s why it is the biggest fight in all of boxing right now.”
Ellerbe says De La Hoya was never keen on putting Garcia in with Davis.
“I know that for a fact,” he continued. “Oscar is a smart guy as [it] relates to ring intelligence. And this is just my opinion, it’s my opinion on this, this part right here – I have some factual information on some other stuff – but this is my opinion, is that the fight in the ring, I don’t think he thinks that Ryan Garcia can win. That’s just my opinion, though.”
Thing heated up this week during an Instagram Live chat with Davis asking to Garcia to gamble his purse against him.
The father of Garcia has advised his son to focus on the fight rather than these side issues.
“I didn’t watch the interview,” Henry Garcia told iFL TV. “Actually, I didn’t even know about it. I got on YouTube and started seeing it.
“But look, remember Jake Paul betting Eddie Hearn and Willie and all those guys. That didn’t really happen. I would say ignore that and let’s just concentrate on the fight. Let’s just wait for that moment.
“I actually didn’t want to say anything to him because he’s a grown man. I wouldn’t want that to happen, but I’ll tell you this much: for him to say it out loud, it tells you he’s very confident.
“Judges and referees, some of them you do see some weird things happening as far as scoring and the way referees stop the fight. These are some things that you have to take into account and I think my son is aware of that.
Henry added that he doesn’t see the fight going the distance.
“I’d have to say no, because Ryan is tuned in,” he said. “I’ve never seen him like this before. He’s the underdog because his team is saying Tank has more experience.”
