The biggest talking point on Gervonta “Tank” Davis going into his highly-anticipated April 22 fight with Ryan Garcia at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was that he was one of boxing’s hardest hitters.

It was no surprise to some that Davis knocked Garcia out with a shot to the ribs in the seventh round. The bigger surprise might be that, after intense prefight smack talk, Garcia walked into the ring to the tune of a haunting Christian song, hinting that his personal faith — and perhaps his influencer status — mattered more to him than the fight or its outcome.

After years of buildup and being pitted against each other, two of sport’s youngest and brightest stars were placed on a collision course.

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The fight had all the makings of a classic catchweight match. The two had gone back and forth verbally before the bout. Both were undefeated. A southpaw against a traditional fighter. There was a history between their mentors. Davis had Floyd Mayweather Jr. on his side; the 24-year-old Garcia has ties to both Oscar De La Hoya and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

Indeed, the bright lights shined on the biggest boxing match of the year. Amid the hype and tension heading into the fight, it also became a religious showcase where faith was on full display for millions to see.

Religious backgrounds and the buildup

Garcia, 24, a native of Victorville, California, has always been open about his Christianity. With over 10 million followers on Instagram and a meteoric boxing career, Garcia has been using his celebrity status to proclaim his faith to the masses.

“As I’ve grown, I’ve come to the faith of Christianity and my belief in Jesus Christ,” Garcia said on Logan Paul’s podcast two weeks before the fight. “He died for our sins, and that’s what I hold true to myself.”

Garcia spoke about how his faith lit a flame within him, encouraging him to share the gospel.

“I could scream to the world all day long, Jesus is the answer, which I will because I have such a mind like that and I came to that conclusion,” he said. “But it’s also within yourself. You have to search, you have to ask constantly, and that’s how you find out. You have to seek, and then you will find.”

Garcia has consistently thanked God through his social media posts. He also has a cross inked on his chest and a dove on his left shoulder, which he said symbolizes “the Holy Spirit that guides me.”

On several occasions, Garcia started his postfight interviews by acknowledging Jesus as his savior and admitted that his adversary needed more convincing.

“He drinks a lot, he gambles a lot,” Davis told FightHype. “Just don’t say that ‘I’m this highly praise God person like I’m a saint, I don’t do nothing wrong’ if you’re gonna do your little dirt and think nobody gonna get back to it.”

The interviewer asked Davis if he thinks Garcia is a hypocrite, to which he responded, “Yeah, for sure.”

“He’s more (of) a bad person than me,” Davis added.

The 28-year-old Baltimore native was born into a Christian family. Like Garcia, Davis’ tattoos could also be an indicator of his faith. Although he is not as outspoken about religion, “Tank” has the word “Blessed” — alongside angel wings — on his neck. His claims of Garcia being a worse person than him were made controversial by allegations of a hit-and-run in 2020 and a domestic violence charge last year.

“That kind of statement causes a lot of confusion to people,” Garcia said. “There’s a lot of people on the fence of believing in God and what that really means. When you come to God, it’s not (that) you’re coming to praise him because you’re perfect. You’re praising him because you understand that you’re imperfect.”

The smack-talk around faith didn’t end there.

“Those things that he even claimed, it shows me that he hasn’t done much searching on what God really is. It shows me his level of maturity,” Garcia added. “He’s 28 and has done no searching in it. He’s not doing anything for anybody but himself and I’m here to spread a good message to people.”

Fight night and the aftermath

Several boxing legends with religious affiliations were present ringside on the night of the fight. They included Manny Pacquiao, who grew up Catholic and later became an evangelical, as well as Bernard Hopkins and Mike Tyson, who both converted to Islam as young men.

Walkouts are a factor in building the boxing experience. How the fighters enter the ring creates an impression and builds a particular type of suspense and excitement for spectators. Most times, walkouts display determination, readiness and showmanship.

Other times, it becomes an opportunity to intimidate the opposition.

Garcia, in the biggest fight of his career, chose to walk out to “Oceans” by Hillsong United, an unusual selection as a haunting and beautiful recorded voice sang the lyrics slowly to the fight audience.

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders

Let me walk upon the waters

Wherever You would call me

Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander

And my faith will be made stronger

In the presence of my Savior.

The lyrics blared over the arena loudspeakers as Garcia walked out of the tunnel. He pointed his gloves to the sky while his head shifted between bows and upward looks.

A series of Instagram videos showed Christian music consistently being played in the background during Garcia’s warmups.

This was a much different approach compared to his previous walkouts. Garcia — nicknamed “King” — has boasted flashy, medieval-like entourages in the past.

In his fight against Luke Campbell, he was carried on a throne on his way to the squared circle.

This time, Davis walked out with a straight face. His entrance featured a live performance of “Love Sosa” by rapper Chief Keef, who walked alongside the three-division world champion.

In the end, it only took Davis seven rounds to win the fight. While Garcia had a strong first round, he would get knocked down in the second and failed to regain his rhythm after that.

Davis landed a liver shot, and Garcia would take a knee as 10 seconds flew by. As a result, Davis (29-0) earned his 27th knockout, while Garcia (23-1) suffered his first career loss.

Despite all the bad-mouthing before the fight, the two showed respect toward one another after the final bell.

While fans and fighters have advocated for them to run it back, their clause only obligates a rematch in the event of Garcia winning. Regardless, both men have promising boxing careers ahead of them.

“No matter what,” Garcia said after the fight, “even if I lose, I want to say thank you Jesus Christ for all he does in my life.”

Leocciano Callao is a freelance journalist. He has interned at the Brooklyn Paper and currently covers basketball for FanSided. He studied media, culture and the arts at Providence Christian College in Pasadena, California, and played four years of college soccer. He is on Twitter @leocciano.