WASHINGTON – Gervonta Davis didn’t realize that the left hand he landed toward the end of the eighth round had such a destructive effect on Hector Luis Garcia early Sunday morning. (photo by Ryan Hafey)

That’s why a disappointed Davis stood in the center of the ring for the start of the ninth round, waiting impatiently for the previously unbeaten 130-pound champion to leave his corner. That shot shook up Garcia so badly, though, that the Dominican southpaw told his trainer, Bob Santos, that he couldn’t continue.

Garcia said he couldn’t see out of his right eye, which made referee Earl Brown declare Davis a winner by technical knockout 13 seconds into the ninth round of their 12-round, 135-pound championship match at Capital One Arena.

“I knew I caught him good, but I ain’t know I caught him like that, where as though he wasn’t gonna come out [to] the ring,” Davis said. “But I knew I caught him good.”

Baltimore’s Davis did sense that Garcia was vulnerable to a knockout early in the ninth round, though he never got that opportunity.

“I came back to the corner and [it] was like that I knew I was about to knock him out, because I was touching him,” Davis said. “I started touching him more.”

Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) landed several flush punches on Garcia in the final minute of the eighth round. The left hand that did the most damage temporarily sent Garcia into a squatting position with 17 seconds left in it and apparently rendered him unable to continue.

“I was shocked,” Calvin Ford, Davis’ head trainer, said. “I didn’t know that he hit him that hard, to make him not wanna come out. You know, that’s the type of wins I like, when he’s putting it together and showing his real talents, that he really have.”

The 31-year-old Garcia (16-1, 10 KOs, 3 NC) made their Showtime Pay-Per-View fight difficult for Davis at times, yet he trailed 79-73, 79-73 and 78-74 on the scorecards through eight rounds. A disoriented Garcia turned to go to the wrong corner, however, when the bell sounded to end the eighth round.

“When I got [hit with] the shot to my head in the final round, that’s when I couldn’t see from my eye,” Garcia said. “I didn’t know where I was when he hit me with that shot. My vision is back, but my head still hurts. I couldn’t see from my right eye. It was going well up until that point. I was picking my shots.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.