Months After Controversial Scoring for $100 Million Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia Fight, Association of Boxing Commissions Meet to Formulize Concrete 10-8 Knockdown Rounds

Late April this year saw one of the most dramatic fights take its course in the ring. In the lightweight division, Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia clashed in a controversial showdown. The former went home riding high on victory. In the 7th round, a confident Ryan Garcia had to finally concede a loss after he couldn’t continue following a devastating body shot from Davis.

However, the matchup, one of the highest revenue-yielding ones in recent history, also held such stakes that anyone who lost the match was as frustrated as Garcia was. Coming through in this highly anticipated match was Davis, who by his knockout declared himself as one of boxing’s pound-for-pound best fighters. In the wake of this fight, a discourse in the boxing realm flourished. It debated how a knockout should be scored in a boxing matchup.

Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia prompts major shake-up in scoring norms

On that fateful night in Las Vegas, it was not the first knockdown that ‘Tank’ delivered. While the 7th round was the one that helped him to victory, he also kocked down ‘KingRy’  in the second round. However, none of the judges scored the round 10-8. While Dave Moretti scored it a 10-10, Tim Cheatham and Steve Weisfeld scored it 10-9. The controversial scoring nudged stakeholders to take an active step in making some uniform rules for knockdown scoring.

Association of Boxing Commissions Training Committee met on the 24th of August to outline formal guidelines in such cases. This was done for judges to have a transparent understanding of how to score knockdowns. A document from the meeting said, “It is mandatory to score 10-8 on a round where a fighter is knocked down, unless there is an unquestionable outstanding domination from the boxer that was knocked down. Only then may the round be scored 10-9 for the fighter who knocked down his/her opponent.”

Creating History, Tank vs. Ry made tons of cash

Recently, KingRy disclosed about how much money he made following his fight against Tank. Despite Garcia not winning the matchup, he did go home a tad bit richer that night. Reportedly, the fighter made a whopping $30 million that night. KingRy attributed the success of the matchup to the promotions involved in arranging the exciting bout. He said, “Not only that but we showed everyone how to promote a fight in this generation and I’m extremely proud to be apart the event.”

In a Twitter post, Ryan disclosed that the fight in its entirety made a striking $100 million. A massive commercial success, the bout reportedly sold .2 million pay-per-view (PPV) units and generated a $22.8 million event gate.

Also Read: “They Think You Not Top Dog [Until] You Wake [Them] Up”: A Month After Prison Release, Gervonta Davis Sends Shockwaves Through Boxing World With Bold Message

In the wake of such dramatic events unfolding, Ry ended up in deeper trouble when he refused to abide by the contract he had with his promoter Oscar De La Hoya. Post the match, a furious Garcia claimed that none from Golden Boy Promotions or his team stood by him during the press conference. Scarred from such hostility he threatened to leave the promotion. In retaliation, Golden Boy filed a lawsuit forcing his boxer to work in accordance with the contract. As this story further unfolds, it remains to be seen what KingRy does in his career hereon.

What do you think of the ABC’s guidelines? Let us know in the comments section below.

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