Gervonta Davis stops Ryan Garcia in seventh round of Las Vegas thriller

Gervonta Davis lived up to his pre-fight prediction by stopping Ryan Garcia in the seventh round of their catchweight bout in Las Vegas on Saturday night to come out on top in this fierce rivalry.

In one of the most highly-anticipated bouts of the year between two of boxing's biggest stars, Davis had Garcia down on the canvas in the second round after weathering a lightning-speed combo, before ending the fight five rounds later with a vicious body shot that his fellow American couldn't recover from.

Davis vowed to stop Garcia in the seventh or eighth round of their fight at T-Mobile Arena and that's exactly what the WBA lightweight world champion did to extend his unbeaten professional record to 29 victories with 27 knockouts.

The defeat was Garcia's first in his 24th professional bout.

This fight between lightweight challengers had the feel of a big-time event, attracting celebrities such as Julius Erving, Damian Lillard ,and Mark Walhberg, as well as former champs Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Manny Pacquiao.

What kind of lasting impact this fight will have on the sport beyond Saturday remains to be seen, but both fighters — even as they bickered all week — recognised its importance when they agreed to fight. They are two boxers in their prime willing to take on each other rather than carefully choose other opponents to enhance their resumes.

They also are represented by rival promoters: Davis by Mayweather Promotions and Garcia by Golden Boy Promotions.

Even the promoters argued before the fight, with Golden Boy's Oscar De La Hoya claiming Mayweather's Leonard Ellerbe and his camp protected Davis by insisting certain clauses be written into the contract. Ellerbe shot back that as the dominant side, they had the