GERVONTA DAVIS propelled himself into superstardom with a brutal body shot stoppage against Ryan Garcia.
The American had Garcia on the floor twice in the blockbuster bout in Las Vegas, with the second closing the show in round seven.
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A crippling left to the body caused a delayed reaction from Garcia, who agonisingly dropped to his feet and failed to beat the count.
It declared Davis the winner, emerging with bragging rights and his unbeaten record in Sin City.
He said: “I was excited to be part of this event I remember coming up in Golden Gloves and seeing Floyd fight at the MGM and it was crazy.
“I just saw Rihanna perform at the Super Bowl and I was like, ‘That’s going to be me.’ Now we’re here.
“It definitely matched the dream but the job isn’t done until I retire. I’m gonna keep my head down, stay humble and continue to work.”
Garcia – who pushed so hard for two years to make the dream fight a reality – suffered his first loss in 24 professional bouts.
He said after defeat: “I’m good. Tank is a great fighter.
“I take my hat off to him. I know we talked a lot of s*** coming in here but he knows what it is, it’s all love at the end of the day.
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“I was honoured to be in the ring with a great fighter and I respect him a lot. You know how the business goes. You’re a good man, bro.”
It was Garcia, 24, who started the quicker of the two in the 136lb catchweight clash, flashing out his jab and left hook.
Davis, 28, began on the defence, looking to cover up and gage his timing and range.
And the fight kicked into life in round two as Garcia came out swinging, forcing Davis to cover up and grab on.
But as the social media sensation threw his trademark left hook, Davis ducked underneath and replied with a beautiful left hand.
It put Garcia on the seat of his pants and the tide was turned from there on.
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Davis took control from that moment, growing more active with his jab as Garcia looked to land his left to head and body.
Back-and-forth action ensued in the fourth as both traded hooks and combinations with the bout really heating up.
Davis began to get on the front foot, stalking Garcia as he tried to counter with his razor sharp left over the top.
Garcia showed glimpses of discomforting Davis in round six, with a sharp reply catching the ex-world champion’s attention.
But in round seven – in a blink and you’ll miss it moment – the Floyd Mayweather protege sunk in a savage body shot.
A sneaky left hand to Garcia’s midsection had the youngster reeling backwards and eventually down to his knees.
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He desperately tried to catch his breath and make it to his feet but the damage was done.
The referee’s count hit ten and declared Davis the winner, on the biggest night of his life.
He said: “I saw his facial expression and that’s what made me take it to him.
“It was a good shot. I thought he was going to get up. I like to play mind games.
“When he was looking at me I was looking at him like trying to tell ‘get up’ but he shook his head and said no.”
Garcia bravely tried to rise before the count hit ten but he lacked the oxygen in his lungs to do so.
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He admitted: “He just caught me with a good shot.
“I don’t want to make no excuses. He caught me with a good shot I just couldn’t recover and that’s was it.
“That’s all I’ve got to say, he caught me with a good body shot, it snuck under me and caught me good.
“I’m not going to say nothing but yeah, I couldn’t breathe. I was going to get back up but I just couldn’t get up.”
The pay-per-view super-fight – between to unbeaten stars in their prime – was billed as one to save the sport and crown its new face.
And after Davis secured yet another win, with a record amount of eyes watching, he declared himself the boxing’s new boss.
He roared: “I’m definitely the face of boxing absof***inglutely.”
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