A special Fight Week of activities is underway as undefeated superstars Gervonta “Tank” Davis and “King” Ryan Garcia officially make their Grand Arrivals to Las Vegas later today before they meet in a generational clash and instant classic on Saturday, April 22 headlining a SHOWTIME PPV production in a Premier Boxing Champions event from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
As the two crossover stars complete their fight week business and prepare to put their undefeated records and reputations on the line, here are some news and notes from SHOWTIME SPORTS® as the network gears up for a busy weekend of combat sports that includes a BELLATOR MMA doubleheader.
WHERE TO CATCH ALL THE ACTION
The four-fight pay-per-view event kicks off at a special start time of 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and is widely available for purchase and live streaming in the United States at SHOWTIME.com/ppv and via the SHOWTIME app on supported devices including Apple iOS and tvOS devices, Android Mobile, AndroidTV, Roku, Amazon FireTV, Samsung Smart TV and LG Smart TV (2019 models and newer), Xbox One, Xfinity Flex, the Cox Wireless 4K Contour Stream Player and online at SHOWTIME.com and DAZN.com. The event is also available for purchase in the U.S. via satellite and telco systems through DIRECTV®, DISH, Sling TV and Vubiquity. The suggested retail price is $84.95 (SRP). In Canada, viewers can purchase and access the event via traditional cable and satellite distributors (Bell, Rogers, Shaw, SaskTel/TELUS, FITE.TV and DAZN.com). Liberty and Claro TV will offer the event in Puerto Rico. G&G Closed Circuit Events is the commercial distributor within the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada.
FROM THE RING TO THE CAGE
BELLATOR MMA’s annual doubleheader on the Hawaiian island of Oahu returns this weekend. On Friday, April 21, current Women’s Flyweight World Champion and U.S. Marine Liz Carmouche faces No. 4 ranked flyweight challenger DeAnna Bennett in a rematch for the title. In the evening’s co-main event, No. 6-ranked heavyweight and Minnesota National Guardsman Tim Johnson competes against Said Sowma. The following night, April 22, the BELLATOR Bantamweight World Grand Prix will conclude with current Interim Champion Raufeon Stots facing No. 2-ranked Patchy Mix in the Final. In the co-main event, the pride of Honolulu, No. 3-ranked Ilima-Lei Macfarlane looks to defend home turf against Japan’s No. 2-ranked Kana Watanabe.
Continuing the annual tradition for BELLATOR, Friday night’s event is being held in honor of America’s Military, Veterans and First-Responders, all of whom are eligible to attend the event with a guest for free entry.
NUMBERS NEVER LIE
Two episodes of the SHOWTIME® original documentary series ALL ACCESS: DAVIS VS. GARCIA are available now on SHOWTIME and on the SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel for non-network subscribers. As an indication of the popularity and the magnitude of this event between the superstars, the episodes have racked up some of the highest viewership numbers in the history of the series. Episode One currently has 3.1 million views, while Episode Two has 2.2 million views.
ALL ACCESS ACCOLADES
ALL ACCESS was recently nominated for two Sports EMMY® Awards. ALL ACCESS: Davis vs. Romero Epilogue was nominated for Outstanding Edited Event Coverage, while ALL ACCESS: Spence vs. Ugas was nominated for Outstanding Writing – Long Form. ALL ACCESS has now been nominated for 13 Sports EMMY Awards since it first premiered in 2012. The series has won five statuettes thus far.
The ALL ACCESS cameras will be in Las Vegas all week, filming ALL ACCESS: Davis vs. Garcia Epilogue, which will premiere Saturday, April 29. The Epilogue will spotlight the drama of fight week and provide an exclusive, first-hand account from fight night like no other show on television, revealing private moments between the fighters, their teams and loved ones.
I WANT ALL THE SMOKE!
Both fighters sat down for in-depth, candid conversations on the hit SHOWTIME Basketball podcast, ALL THE SMOKE, hosted by NBA Champions Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.
“I really don’t think about [the success], because it’s always like, ‘Damn, I have to do something else,’” says Davis in the interview. “Before the Luis Hector Garcia fight, it’s like, I beat him and then it’s like, ‘Forget that. I have to beat Ryan Garcia next.’ It’s not really too much of a celebration. I’ll probably have a little get-together after the fight, but it’s always in the back of my mind. What’s next?”
“I’ve been envisioning this fight for so long,” Garcia tells Barnes and Jackson. “It’s always felt like a fight that was going to determine what type of greatness I was going to reach. Every fight, I knew it was just leading up to this moment.”
Click HERE to watch the episode featuring Davis. The Garcia episode will be available to watch later today on the SHOWTIME Basketball YouTube Channel.
FIGHT WEEK FESTIVITIES
The SHOWTIME Sports YouTube Channel will also be home to live streaming coverage of all fight week events, including today’s Grand Arrivals, open media workouts on Wednesday, the final press conference Thursday, the official weigh-in Friday, and the post-fight press conference. Brian Campbell, SHOBOX: The New Generation® analyst and co-host of the award-winning live digital talk show MORNING KOMBAT, and renowned combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani will serve as the hosts of the streams on Thursday and Friday. Sports broadcaster Kate Abdo, who covers UEFA Champions League for CBS Sports and is a former PBC studio host, will join Campbell and Helwani on Friday’s live stream and the trio will serve as the announce team for the SHOWTIME PPV COUNTDOWN show on Saturday, which will include live coverage of preliminary bouts and analysis of the upcoming pay-per-view card. Rising contender Fiodor Czerkaszyn and sensational prospect Vito Mielnicki Jr. will compete in separate bouts on the COUNTDOWN show.
A STAR-STUDDED AFFAIR
SHOWTIME Basketball’s star-studded lineup of content creators including Kevin Garnett, Matt Barnes, Rachel Nichols, Paul Pierce and Stephen Jackson will be in Las Vegas contributing to fight week festivities in various capacities. Top Premier Boxing Champions fighters including Jermell and Jermall Charlo, Errol Spence Jr., Deontay Wilder, David Benavidez, Yordenis Ugas, Danny Garcia, Caleb Plant, Stephen Fulton Jr. and more are also expected to be in attendance on fight night.
While both Davis and Garcia have remained mum on who may accompany them to the ring during their walkout on fight night, fans don’t have to wait to watch the Davis vs. Garcia official music video, available HERE, featuring a pair of big names in the music industry. The video presents some of the most highlight-worthy knockouts from Davis and Garcia over the track Tokyo Drifting from popular British rock band Glass Animals and critically acclaimed rapper Denzel Curry.
CLOSED-CIRCUIT WATCH PARTY
MGM Grand Garden Arena will be the exclusive CCTV location for fans to watch Davis vs. Garcia on the Las Vegas Strip. Tickets for the closed circuit telecast are available for purchase now through AXS.com at https://www.axs.com/events/480286/davis-vs-garcia-closed-circuit-telecast-tickets?skin=grandgarden
THE A TEAM
Veteran sportscaster and “The Last Stand” podcaster Brian Custer will host the SHOWTIME PPV telecast while versatile combat sports voice Mauro Ranallo will once again handle the blow-by-blow action alongside Hall of Fame analyst Al Bernstein and three-division world champion Abner Mares. Three more Hall of Famers round out the most decorated team in boxing – ringside reporter Jim Gray, world-renowned ring announcer Jimmy Lennon, Jr. and boxing historian Steve Farhood as unofficial scorer. Sportscaster Alejandro Luna will call the action in Spanish on Secondary Audio Programming (SAP) with former world champion and SHOBOX: The New Generation commentator Raúl “El Diamante” Marquez serving as the expert analyst. Four-time Emmy Award winner David Dinkins, Jr. will executive-produce the telecast with Bob Dunphy, son of Hall of Fame boxing announcer Don Dunphy, directing.
HOW MUCH YOU WANT TO BET?
DraftKings, the official sportsbook sponsor of Davis vs. Garcia, views “Tank” as a slight favorite on Saturday night. He is currently listed as a -245 favorite, while “King” Ryan is a +190 underdog.
The oddsmakers view the fight ending before the full 12 rounds as the most likely outcome. The odds for Davis to win by stoppage (KO, TKO, DQ) are currently listed at -140 and the odds of Garcia winning by stoppage are +300. On the other hand, the odds for Davis to win by decision are listed at +500, while Garcia’s odds to win by decision are even less likely, listed at +800.
