Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia PPV buys exceed expections, creates record with live gate

The Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia boxing contest was perhaps one of the most highly anticipated combat sports events in recent memory, and the pay-per-view (PPV) numbers are proof of that. The fight occurred on April 22 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and was streamed on Showtime PPV.

The fight reportedly drew over a whopping $1.2 million pay-per-view (PPV) buys and is potentially the fifth-best gate in Nevada fighting history with a stunning $22.8 million income from ticket sales for a crowd of approximately 20,842 people. That is the second highest sale for a sanctioned bout since the first Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovin boxing match in 2017 generated 1.3 million.

For added perspective, considering Las Vegas is widely known as the biggest fighting stage in the world, the match between heavyweights Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, which also took place at the T-Mobile Arena, couldn't cross $1 million and generated just $10 million in ticket sales.

After years of rivalry brewing, fans expected Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia to put on a show, and they certainly didn't disappoint. 'KingRy' suffered his maiden professional loss after being stopped in the seventh round after a body shot rendered him unable to go on.

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Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia PPV buys: Oscar De La Hoya's prediction almost comes true

Oscar De La Hoya's prediction of Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia's fight drawing 2.5 million PPV buys almost came true. Considering their status as pop-culture icons as well as elite athletes, their long-awaited clash was expected to do well on the numbers chart.

Oscar De La Hoya is familiar with fighting in bouts that break PPV records, once setting the record for most pay-per-view buys (2.4 million) in May 2007 when he fought Floyd Mayweather for the WBC super welterweight title.

While 'Tank's fight against 'KingRy' didn't quite hit the bulls-eye of De La Hoya's 2.5 million PPV buy prediction, it certainly exceeded expectations with 1.2 million in sales.

In a January interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, De La Hoya revealed how many PPVs he thought Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia would sell. He said:

"We’re all working together to blow this one out of the water. We want to make sure that this event is here because it’s such a special fight, we want to make sure that this fight does 2, 2.5, or 3 million homes. This is that type of event. Realistically, close to 2.5."

Watch the full interview below: