Via Adam Baskin: Bernard Hopkins said Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis’ decision to include a rehydration clause in his contract for his bout with Ryan Garcia was a sign of anxiety on his part for their 136 lb bout on Sunday. April 22. Showtimes PPV.
Tank got Ryan (23-0.19 KOs) to agree to a 136 lb matchup instead of 140, but he then went a step further adding a 10 lb rehydration clause to prevent Kingry from compensating. water completely overnight after weighing.
Hopkins is a former boxer, and he likes Gervonta (28-0.26 KO); given his need in terms of weight and rehydration, that was foreign to B-Hop.
He couldn’t understand it, but he completely understood that it was a sign of deep concern for Tank and his management. They didn’t want to lose to Ryan, so they set up a situation where it would be more difficult to win than otherwise.
Tank-Ryan goes down with skill
“I don’t think anything comes down to a thing at this level. I think it will be all of the above. I think both of them will show if they have it when it comes to endurance,” Bernard Hopkins told fight about the fight between Ryan Garcia and Gervonta Davis.
“They both have it to get where they are now, or they will have it when they settle in over the next few weeks. I think they will still show that. It will come to the person who will be able to show it.
“One particular style will not prevail in this fight. That will be the difference between who wins this war and who loses this war. It’s someone who does something different that we haven’t talked about yet.
“We know about punches, but let’s talk about overall skills. We don’t want to talk about this because it’s boring to some people. When you’re up against fights of this magnitude and what will make history later, ‘We’ve never seen him do it before’ or ‘We never knew he could do it. that’,” said Hopkins.
Why does Gervonta need a rehydration provision?
“What surprises the opponent, Ryan or Tank, will be the only difference between winners and losers in this fight,” Bernard said. “When you have the rehydration clause, it shows that Tank is nervous under the guise of ‘I’m not worried.
“When you do the weights, I look at it like, you did the damn weights. When you have to say, ‘I know you’re done weighing, but I want you to weigh this four hours later. You need to weigh this in 24 hours.’
“Now, it becomes something else. What advantages are you looking for? “Well, Bernard, fair game.” Are not. Do you know what a fair game is? ‘You get on the scale. We fight at 160 for my undisputed championship. I put on weight, and we created that weight. That’s the weight we’ve agreed to.’
“But now let you start talking, to make this fight happen, and I want to prove my greatness because I believe I have been great. That’s what Tank is saying, really. This is a certified seal of approval and I won’t have to worry too much about how much you weigh.
“I just want you to consider what we agreed to, and now we can move on and fight. I don’t want any excuses that you have to lose this weight, that you have to weigh in 24 hours.
You weigh again to make sure you’re not rehydrating with whatever you rehydrate because, to me, weight doesn’t make you better than me, and it doesn’t make you worse than me,” Bernard speak.
Ryan Garcia dared to be great
“The weight means you’re going to be a big, fat Tank, and I’m going to beat you up even more,” says Hopkins. “That’s the way I think. I am old school. I believe when people see this interview, they will see that I’m not bashing one or the other.
“I’m just telling you from a mind game, ‘I think I’m getting the psychological advantage of some people wanting to fight or being forced to answer calls. In this case, it’s the second one.
“To answer the call, I’m going to give all these incentives for you to say no to it, and then I can go elsewhere. So now when you have these so-called concessions, and you don’t test them, say, ‘I definitely wouldn’t do that.’
“Nobody is interviewing,” Ryan gave up a lot. You don’t really have to give up. Why do you think he did it?’ He dared to be great. We talk about it, and we can even fantasize about it, but how many people really think so? Now, we’ll see,” Hopkins said.
