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UPDATE
6:18 AM PT — 1/18 — It appears Ryan Garcia and Gervonta “Tank” Davis are VERY close to making the fight official — Oscar De La Hoya posted a picture alongside Ryan on Tuesday night … with both guys pointing to some paperwork.
UPDATE
“Finally received contract, time to put finishing touches and we have a fight April 15 let’s go!!!!!,” Oscar said on Instagram.
UPDATE
Despite offering an ultimatum early Sunday morning, Ryan Garcia’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya says he is now “optimistic” his superstar fighter and Gervonta “Tank” Davis WILL indeed fight … and soon!
TMZ Sports talked to the boxing great at an event promoting an upcoming fight between Alexis Rocha and Anthony Young at the YouTube Theatre on Jan. 28 … when we asked ODLH about arguably the biggest fighting in the sport, Tank vs. Ryan.
“I have a meeting literally in 2 hours with Ryan Garcia and I should look at my email right now. I should have the contract for the fight so I’m looking forward to putting that together and hopefully announcing soon,” Oscar told us.
“I’m actually very optimistic now that this fight will happen April 15th. It’s the biggest that could be made.”
Of course, 24-year-old Garcia (23-0, 19 KO’s) and 28-year-old Davis (28-0, 26 KO’s), huge stars with different personalities, have been rivals for years … and have talked about fighting for just as long.
The fight appeared close … that is until De La Hoya threw a bit of cold water on the fight this weekend, saying he planned to move past the fight if he didn’t receive a contract.
But, those concerns have clearly faded.
“Nobody is backing out. The contract is coming. I’ll tell you one thing, Ryan Garcia wants to knock him out so bad. He’s calling it in two rounds. I actually believe it but then again, I think about Tank Davis who is a beast. He is an animal! He’s a great fighter.”
“Both guys are in their prime. Both guys are undefeated. It’s gonna be a great fight, and you know what, in two hours we’re gonna make it happen.”
FYI, we shot this clip about three hours ago … so, lets gooooooo!!!
Originally Published — 1/17 3:18 PM PT