Hector Garcia Cites Momentary Blindness for Abandoning Davis Fight
WBA ‘regular’ junior lightweight champion “The Android” Hector Luis Garcia (16-1, 10KO) was giving a good account of himself in the early portion of the fight against WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank’ Davis (28-0, 26KO). However, his team’s decision to withdraw from the fight over vision issues is not being received in a good light.
Despite being a world champion, Garcia was being tagged as a tune-up from the moment the fight was announced. Unfazed, the Dominican entered the ring with a wave of confidence after scoring two big wins against top-rated fighter Chris Colbert and former title holder Roger Guiterrez in 2022.
GARCIA’S VISION BECAME AN ISSUE
The Android had several sharp moments throughout the fight. However, in the eighth round, Davis landed a perfect left hand that stunned Garcia momentarily. Shortly after, fans watching at home could hear him telling the corner there was an issue with his vision. This resulted in the fight being stopped and Davis banking another satisfying stoppage.
During the post-fight interview, Garcia explained what happened in the corner.
(translated from Spanish)
“In that round, that’s when the eye, I couldn’t see from it. I didn’t know where I was when he hit me with that shot. My head still hurts. My vision is back but that’s what happened, I didn’t know where I was. I couldn’t see from the right eye.”
Getting hurt is part of the game and overcoming adversity is a must in the sport. So, understandably fans are a little upset considering, via Garcia’s own admission, his vision returned moments later. Several pundits believe he should have tried to fight first to see if things would have improved instead of refusing to continue.
Being tagged a quitter is tough to overcome for any fighter. It will be interesting to see what happens next for the WBA junior lightweight champion.
By: Bo Bland
