Hector Luis Garcia sauntered to the ring on January 7th, filled with hubris. Although he was tasked with the monumental chore of usurping Gervonta "Tank" Davis, the former Olympian believed that he had the God-given tools to do just that.

In front of a lively crowd at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C., Garcia stood toe to toe with one of the sport's biggest stars and most violent punchers.

Viewed as a gargantuan underdog, Garcia held his own throughout most of the night. Davis, however, found the fight-changing blow at the tail end of the eighth round. A visibly weary Garcia sat despondently on his stool in between rounds, before signaling to his corner that he would be unable to continue.

Shortly after throwing in the towel, Garcia (16-1, 10 KOs) revealed that the moment Davis landed his vaunted left hand, his vision became unclear, rendering him effectively useless and unable to continue.  

Garcia, a 31-year-old Dominican champion with a plethora of experience, has always prided himself on having a rock-solid chin. Officially, his loss to Davis has been tabbed as a TKO. But, despite Davis forcing his foe to say no mas, Garcia refuses to acknowledge that the power of Davis had any real effect on him throughout the fight.

“Tank is a good fighter,” said Garcia during an interview on Fight Hub TV. “I got his good power punches but he didn't knock me out. Although I took his power punches, I still wanted to continue. He didn't push me back, he didn't buckle me. I feel like I could still take all of his punches. The more the rounds kept on going I was getting more confident.”

While he had his moments, at the time of the final stoppage, Garcia was woefully behind on all three judges' scorecards. In addition to the current WBA super featherweight champion believing that Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) was essentially fortuitous on the night, Garcia is convinced that he was just finding his rhythm.

Although he’s been known for his ability to outbox his opponents, Garcia concludes that he was truly on the verge of not only defeating Davis but putting him out of his misery in explosive fashion.

“If the fight would've continued I feel like I could've finished him and I’m confident in that.”