The DAZN Boxing Show discussed whether a rehydration clause could hold Ryan Garcia back against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.
The undefeated pair face off this April 22 on a pay-per-view event that will be shown live on DAZN PPV in the U.S. and Canada, but there has been plenty of discussion over a rehydration limit set for Garcia.
Garcia is the taller man and had announced a move up to super lightweight following his return from injury, but there is a catchweight in place for the bout of 136 lbs.
Such limits could affect Garcia’s power disproportionately compared to the shorter 'Tank', and Akin Reyes commented: “One point I thought is Mario Barrios, and Tank did fight him at 140 and there was no rehydration clause in that contract and no issues on what the weight was going to be.
“But obviously and evidently, Tank and his team think Garcia will be a threat if he hydrates too, in terms of power and in terms of size.
"That’s not a bad thing, it’s a smart thing, but it’s still a thing, there’s a worry factor, there’s a concern, to try and get as much advantage as we can leading up to the fight, starting with the weight.”
Barak Bess commented: “You can say that yes there’s a concern. When you’re the smaller guy it’s OK to have the concern.
“He’s a little guy, small at 135. But I would say Mario Barrios was inside that camp, with PBC, that was in-house. Maybe there was a rehydration clause and we didn’t know about it. So yes, Ryan Garcia is a bigger threat. Tank is very vocal, he is smart.
“It reminds me of Floyd [Mayweather] vs. Canelo [Alvarez]. What was that, 152? Floyd said Eddy Reynoso threw that out there, so it’s a part of boxing. Will it be a factor? If Ryan allows it to be a factor. Because most of his career was 135, I still think he can make 135. If you make 135, you don't rehydrate so heavy.
“It’s science, rehydration is science. So if you have the right people in your camp, you can basically make any weight.
“If he does the right thing, he should be able to make that weight and make it healthy, and if not they should have had more time for it, they knew about the rehydration thing.”