Gervonta Davis made headlines after he came out on top in his 136-pound catchweight super fight against Ryan Garcia Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nevada. A brutal body shot in the seventh round downed Garcia who was unable to get back to his feet during the referee's 10-count. For casuals and new fans, it may have been odd to see a fighter lose as a result of a body shot. But body shots are painful and not all that uncommon to see in boxing, let alone combat sports as a whole.
So with that said, here are five other major fights that were decided by a body shot knockout.
Ryan Garcia vs. Luke Campbell
Where better to start than with a body shot knockout that involved Ryan Garcia — only this time, he's the one delivering it. Garcia fought Luke Campbell in January 2021 for the WBC interim lightweight title. Much like his fight with Davis, Garcia experienced adversity as he was knocked down for the first time in his career by Campbell in the second round.
However, he managed to return to his feet and bounce back, eventually landing a brutal shot to the liver in the seventh round to keep Campbell on the mat. Although not an official world championship, Garcia became the WBC interim lightweight champion, essentially earning him the next crack at the champion. However, he wouldn't compete for more than a year after due to combination of mental health issues and injury.
Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem
UFC 141 took place December 30, 2011 in Las Vegas and was a huge event. For one, it featured former UFC heavyweight Brock Lesnar, who at the time, was the greatest attraction in mixed martial arts. Then you have him facing the debuting Alistair Overeem, a former DREAM, Strikeforce and K1 Grand Prix champion.
It was also Lesnar's first fight since being out for over a year due to a case of diverticulitis. Unfortunately for him, the fight didn't last long as while he was backed up against the cage, Overeem landed a fierce body kick that put Lesnar on one knee. The now-WWE superstar's body was shut down as all he could do was shell up and eat repeated strikes from Overeem until the referee had to step in and call off the contest.
Oscar De La Hoya vs. Bernard Hopkins
A bonafide pay-per-view draw at the time, Oscar De La Hoya moved up to middleweight in 2004 and became the WBO champion after a unanimous decision win over Felix Sturm. His next opponent was much tougher — reigning WBA, WBC and IBF middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins who hadn't suffered defeat for 11 years.
It was a competitive back-and-forth fight for the most part…until Hopkins caught De La Hoya with a body shot in the ninth round. After a delayed reaction, De La Hoya was writhing in pain on the floor with the referee calling the contest off just after the eight-second mark of his count. Today, both De La Hoya and Hopkins work together as part of Golden Boy Promotions.
Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Jorge Linares
One of the most highly-anticipated fights occurred in May 2018 when pound-for-pound great Vasiliy Lomachenko challenged WBA lightweight champion Jorge Linares. It was a chance for Lomachenko to become a lightweight champion for the first time, but it wasn't going to be easy. The Ukrainian suffered his first-ever career knockdown in the sixth round after a straight right from the bigger Linares.
However, Lomachenko got back to his feet and fought on, eventually catching Linares with a body shot in the 10th round that dropped him to a knee. Linares struggled to get to his feet and while he did, the referee saw enough to call off the fight. Linares saw his 13-fight win streak snapped and Lomachenko became the fastest fighter ever to win titles in three different weight classes, doing it in only 12 professional boxing bouts.
Canelo Alvarez vs. Rocky Fielding
Canelo Alvarez is one of the best body-punchers in combat sports period, and that was in full display in his title fight against Rocky Fielding. Alvarez was moving up to super middleweight for the first time and faced the lanky Fielding for his WBA title. Unfortunately for fans who wanted a competitive fight, the contest was as good as over early on as Fielding dropped to a knee right after a couple of body shots from the Mexican.
Fielding did manage to continue but would get dropped by Alvarez's body shots a total of four times in just over eight minutes until the referee ended the contest in the third round. An honorable mention for this list which involves Alvarez getting a body shot knockout over another Briton is his 2016 win over Liam Smith.
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