Robert Garcia wants ‘Tank’ to face ‘Rayo’

Trainer Robert Garcia has called out Gervonta “Tank” Davis to consider fighting Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela at 140 without a rehydration clause.

Baltimore’s Davis, 29, was scheduled to defend his WBA lightweight title against Lamont Roach at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on December 14, but reports had suggested the fight could be pushed back to January.

Garcia wants Davis, 30-0 (28 KOs), to take the opportunity to face the best fighters at either 135 or 140 by unifying the divisions.

“If Tank is calling champions out, well, go fight [Rayo] at 140 and don’t put no rehydration clause, just go fight him and do the fight,” Garcia told Fight Hype. “That’s a problem with boxing right now. And if it’s Tank at 140, I will be more than happy to fight Tank.

“Tank’s a great fighter, man. I love watching his fights but he does need to be a little more aggressive with his opponents, make the right decisions and don’t let people choose for you. You have to call people and say I wanna fight that guy and make it happen. There’s other champions that do it and that’s why they get those big fights happening.”

Davis’ camp was rumored to have presented a fight contract to Valenzuela, 14-2 (9 KOs), but the bout fell through due to timing. According to Garcia, who currently trains Valenzuela, it was impossible for their camp to accept the terms of the fight.

“They did bring it up at one point for November 2nd. I think it was gonna be on a show they wanted to do on PBC but Rayo had just become champion in August, so there was no way we were gonna jump back and train.

“He was in training camp for like five months so he needed some time off. So, we already knew he was not gonna fight till next year, but there was talk about him fighting November 2nd. But I also believe they wanted him at 135. Man, he just became champion at 140.”

With the Davis-Roach fight on the cards, Garcia called on Davis to cancel the fight, describing it as an uninteresting spectacle for the fans. Garcia also hailed Davis as one of the best fighters in the world who sells out arenas with good pay-per-view numbers, however.

When asked about Valenzuela’s chances against Davis, Garcia said “I think they both have a challenge for each other. They’re both champions – one at 135 and the other at 140, so it’s a great chance for both. I’m not saying we give him a chance or he gives us a chance.

“I think it’s a challenge for both because they’re champions. Both are on top of the world right now. Tank needs to show, like I’m telling you, he’s fighting the best, he’s fighting champions, he’s unifying, he’s doing those big moves, and I want those. That’s what I want.”

Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at [email protected].