Drake curse, explained: Will rapper's bet on Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia add to legendary list of betting losses?

Sloan Piva

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Drake curse, explained: Will rapper's bet on Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia add to legendary list of betting losses? image

This weekend will commence the long-awaited pay-per-view showdown between WBA lightweight champion Gervonta 'Tank' Davis (28-0) and fellow undefeated powerhouse Ryan 'King Ry' Garcia (23-0), with millions of dollars expected to be bet on the hyped possible fight of the year.

One of the most famous bets in favor of Davis came from rap superstar Drake, a prospect that leads many Tank fans to worry about the infamous 'Drake Curse.' 

The Grammy-winning Canadian rap star has made plenty of high-profile, high-stakes bets in the past, often seeing mixed results. At times, he has stacked together some downright brutal losses, including a $1,000,000 bet on Argentina to win the World Cup in regulation (Messi and company prevailed via penalty kick shoot-out in extra time) and a $400,000 bet on Jake Paul to KO Tyson Fury (Fury won in a heavily-disputed split decision). 

Will Drake's bet on Davis 'tank' his chances of beating Garcia? Or will the 'curse' be dispelled as it has in the past?

MORE: Fightin' Words: Early reactions, analysis on Davis-Garcia superfight

How much did Drake bet on Gervonta Davis?

According to his Instagram story, Drake put down a $1,000,000 Bitcoin stake on Davis to win outright, opting to avoid any knockout, split decision, or exact round props. As Davis entered the weekend favored to beat Garcia, the total payout would be just $1,380,000.

It's about as safe a million dollar bet as we have seen from Drizzy — it won't yield a massive profit, but it has a high chance of hitting. Perhaps Drake has turned over a new leaf in the sports betting world, aiming to shed his reputation as a losing bettor who curses players and teams.

What is the Drake curse?

Simply put, many believe that Drake dooms the teams and sports stars he backs, bets, supports, or hangs around. When he poses for a photo with an athlete from a certain team, that team's fanbase shutters. When he dons the jersey, shirt, or shorts of a particular club or organization, bettors hedge their wagers for the squad in question. But the creme de la creme of Drake curses, of course, come in the form of the rapper's bets that he shares to social media. 

Basically, Drizzy has become the Nostradamus of Ls. And sometimes even when he picks winners, he loses due to the fine print. The Argentina 2x1 multiplier in the World Cup — which would have netted him $2.75 million on a $1 million stake if not for France's Kylian Mbappé tying the match at the 117th minute — is a perfect example. Drake walked away with nothing, because his bet was on an Argentinian win in regulation. 

But that's just a bad betting beat, not a case of the "Started from the Bottom" rapper picking a loser. You don't need to be a Google whiz to find the many instances in which the pop culture superstar made poor betting picks and/or brought bad juju to teams or players. Just take a look at some of the highlights, er, low-lights:

  • April 2014: Drake releases the song "Draft Day," in which he sings the praises of QB and close friend Johnny Manziel. 'Johnny Football' wound up being a massive bust, getting bounced out of the NFL after two seasons.
  • August-September 2015: The 'Drake curse' begins after the rapper is seen kissing tennis superstar Serena Williams. He then attends the U.S. Open to witness her quest for the Grand Slam, but she collapses in epic fashion.
  • June 2016: Drake reportedly bets fellow rapper French Montanta $60,000 that the Warriors would beat the Cavaliers. LeBron James brings the 'land its first NBA championship.
  • October 2018: UFC star Connor McGregor brings Drake out before his match with Khabib Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov goes on to destroy McGregor.
  • January 2019: Drake makes a heavy bet on Alabama to win the College Football Playoff National Championship, and the Crimson Tide proceed to lose to Clemson 44-16. 
  • April 2019: Drake dons a Maples Leafs jersey in the playoffs and Toronto promptly loses to the Boston Bruins in seven games.
  • May 2019: Drake wears 76ers shorts while watching his Raptors face Philly in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Toronto goes on to eliminate Philadelphia on a wild, last-second Kawhi Leonard fall-away that bounced around the rim. 
  • August 2022: Drake bets $200,000 on Kamaru Usman to beat Leon Edwards at UFC 278. Edwards beats Usman.
  • November 2022: After Drake is seen holding up Team Canada jerseys alongside players, Team Canada becomes the first World Cup team since 1978 to attempt at least 20 shots and one penalty kick and not score a goal. 
  • December 2022: Drake bets Argentina to win the World Cup in regulation. France ties the World Cup just before the end of regulation and Argentina just barely pulls off the victory in a penalty-kick shootout. 
  • February 2023: Draft bets $400,000 on Jake Paul to KO Tyson Fury, but Fury wins in a split decision. 
  • April 2023: Drake puts a $1 million Crypto bet on personal friend Gervonta 'Tank' Davis to beat Ryan Garcia. Will he tank the Tank!?

MORE: Join DAZN to watch Davis vs. Garcia

Are Drake and Gervonta Davis friends?

Drake has known Gervonta Davis for over a half decade. He has taken photos with him, reportedly played basketball with him at the rapper's mansion, and even went for late-night six-mile runs through the city with him. Their friendship, which many believe dates back to at least 2017, would certainly fall under 'Drake curse' territory according to those who believe in it. Tank has done song previews of Drake's on his Instagram, taken photos in front of Drizzy's private jet, and chilled beside the "God's Plan" rapper in social media stories. 

We'll see what "God's Plan" will be for this fight, or if Tank will take over the plans himself and register his 27th knockout and 29th victory in 29 tries. 

Has the Drake curse ever been debunked?

Of course, there have been plenty of times in which Drake actually won bets. Most recently, he won $2.7 million after betting on Israel Adesanya and Jorge Masvidal at UFC 287. He also pulled in a significant payday on Super Bowl Sunday after backing the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the Philadelphia Eagles. And we all remember his notorious courtside presence during the Toronto Raptors' 2019 championship run. 

MORE: Drake's 'psychotic' Super Bowl bets on the Chiefs, explained

The 'Drake curse' is a fun betting-related story that has taken on almost a mythical nature, but it's as real as the Curse of the Bambino was in Boston. In the end, Drake is a Grammy-winning artist who likes to bet but doesn't know much about betting, and he chooses to make high-stakes wagers on the most popular and highly-anticipated sports events in the world. Oftentimes it's 'bet big on big games, fall hard on your face' — good thing he has a bankroll a million times bigger than we could ever dream ours to be. 

Time will tell if Gervonta 'Tank' Davis loses this weekend and the 'Drake curse' lives on. The fight will take place inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and airs on DAZN and Showtime PPV. Check out Sporting News' detailed preview of Davis vs. Garcia, and then take a look at the full undercard details for the night. We will certainly be watching, although perhaps not as intently as Drizzy. 

Sloan Piva

Sloan Piva Photo

Sloan Piva is a content producer for The Sporting News, primarily focused on betting, fantasy sports, and poker. A lifelong New Englander, Sloan earned his BA and MA in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts and now lives in coastal Rhode Island with his wife and two kids.