Shakur Stevenson Chides Ryan Garcia For Complaining About Rehydration Clause
The issue of rehydration has been a hot topic during the lead-up to the April 22 grudge match between Gervonta “Tank” Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) and “King” Ryan Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs). Fans and fighters alike have taken time out to opine on the issue. The latest to do so is the multi-divisional champion, Shakur Stevenson (19-0, 9 KOs).
YOU ASKED FOR THIS
Garcia has been very open about the sacrifices he’s made to get into a fight with Davis. It included agreeing to a rehydration clause that he could only put on ten pounds from the weigh-in to fight night. During an interview with media source FightHype, Stevenson said the following in reaction to King Ryan:
“I mean, I don’t wanna hear that shit . . . He signed up for it. Once you’re signed up, and you sit down and sign them contracts, and they say, well, you got the hydration clause, and you say yes, you can’t get on a press conference and go everywhere and keep complaining about it.
That’s weak to me because, at the end of the day, you signed that. That’s what you wanted. So, that’s the only thing I don’t respect about that. I don’t wanna hear that shit because once you sign that contract, you’re doing what it takes to make the fight happen.”
Stevenson contends that Garcia is a fighter who could be lacking in confidence and is creating an excuse for himself should he lose to Davis. Many fans would agree with Stevenson’s general assessment.
THERE IS A PRECEDENT
Garcia is not the first who has had to undergo such a clause. The IBF has a similar rehydration clause. It states that fighters must have a second weigh-in the morning of the fight and cannot weigh more than 10 pounds than the contracted weight at that moment.
Boxing is a sport in which the playing field is not always equal. Davis-Garcia is considered a high-profile, big-money event. For those matchups to happen, there is always some degree of concession. According to Stevenson, this is just part and parcel of the business.
