Ryan Garcia revealed last Saturday night that he’s ready to officially start campaigning at 140 moving forward with his career after his seventh round knockout loss to Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis in their 136-lb catchweight fight.
It’s questionable whether Ryan has the talent or particularly the dedication required to be one of the top guys at 140 because there are a lot of killers in the division that will potentially feast on him. With a net with of $20 million, you’ve got to ask whether Ryan has the hunger to work hard.
With that kind of money, Ryan can live well in Beverly Hills for the rest of his life without having to test himself against the killers at 140, who will be looking to follow the Tank blueprint.
Ryan’s main threats at 140:
- Subriel Matias
- Regis Prograis
- Josh Taylor
- Jose Ramirez
- Richardson Hitchins
- Jose Zepeda
- Teofimo Lopez
- Gary Antuanne Russell
- Arnold Barboza
- Brandun Lee
If Ryan thought he had it bad with the slight pressure that the 5’5″ Tank Davis was putting on him last Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, just wait until he gets in there with an aggressive 140-pounder like Regis Prograis or Subriel Matias. Those guys are on another level than Tank Davis when it comes to pressure, and they arguably hit harder, particularly Matias.
The 5’10” Ryan (23-1, 19 KOs) says that he thinks it will be easier on him to fight at light welterweight because he won’t have to deal with the grueling process of making weight.
Can Ryan Garcia be a top fighter at 140?
“You’re probably going to have Devin Haney moving up and putting himself in that mix sooner rather than later. Can Ryan be one of the top guys at 140?” said Chris Mannix to The Volume, speculating whether Ryan Garcia can succeed at light welterweight to become one of the major players in thee weight class.
“He could be a factor, but like you said earlier. There are things that he has to fix,” said Jamel Herring about Ryan potentially being a factor at light welterweight. “It wasn’t just the fact that he lost because he’s probably at a weight that he doesn’t belong at.
“No, he has a lot of holes that he needs to patch up in his game, especially with his defense. As you pointed out. He’s still not the complete fighter. I feel like he’s not the best in terms of being the aggressor because he’s not an offense-defense-minded fighter.
“With him, it’s mainly offense when he’s moving forward. He doesn’t think about the incoming as much. He’s great as a counter-puncher when he sets himself and is set, but I felt he didn’t do the best in terms of fighting on the back foot.
“When you got guys like Regis Prograis, who is probably ten times more aggressive than Gervonta Davis. With Regis, he’ll come forward the entire night; whether he’s shimming or trying to get under your punches, he’ll continue to apply smart pressure.
“He’s also a southpaw as well. These types of fighters are just as dangerous as Tank Davis, but he can help himself by going back to the drawing board, fixing his mistakes, and slowly regaining his confidence,” said Herring.
Kingry must stay active
“I’m pretty sure a guy like Ryan Garcia, who has millions of fans behind him, you can imagine any kind of loss can be not only a big blow to his ego but his mentality,” Herring continued. “It’s going to be a while, but I believe he’s still young enough to grow, learn from his mistakes, and eventually make noise moving up [to 140] and forward.
“I also think that you can see Ryan Garcia with his body frame a welterweight one day as well, but it’s all up to Ryan Garcia,” said Herring.
“Yeah, and he also has to be active too. I don’t think it would have made a difference if he had fought [before the Tank Davis clash], but I think he would have been sharper if he had fought in January against Mercito Gesta as originally planned,” said Mannix about Ryan.
“He last fought in July and had a couple of fights within a few months span, and before that, it was a 15-month layoff. So his activity has been sporadic, and when you’re at this stage of your career, activity is key. You’ve got to fight two or three times every year to build up that skill set.
“You can’t just do it in the gym. It doesn’t work that way. So Ryan, thankfully for him, didn’t take a beating in this fight. He got knocked out with a body shot. Take a month or two off, and then get back in September or October. Get back in the ring and put yourself on a path of maybe having three fights in 2024,” Mannix said.
Ryan has to start slowly at 140
“Take on lesser challenges at 140, perhaps and get accustomed to the weight, get accustomed to the speed, the skill, and the power, and then in the middle of next year, see what the landscape looks like,” Mannix continued about Ryan.
“Devin Haney, a fight with him will always be pretty marketable. Whatever comes out of the Teofimo-Josh Taylor mix, that’s going to be marketable. I think Ryan very much can still be a world champion and can be a top guy.
“I think he’s got the skills, power to do it, but to what we’ve been talking about, he does have to get back on that path of progress. He’s got to start to build even more as his career moves forward,” said Mannix about Ryan.
“Activity like you pointed out,” said Herring on what Ryan Garcia needs. “Activity sadly has not been his best weapon because, for me, I like Ryan as a fighter, but at times, we all ask, ‘Does Ryan want to be a fighter or does he want to be an influencer?‘
“Does he want to do things elsewhere and not fully focus on his craft that got him to where he’s at today? You got guys that live and breathe boxing, but when you got a guy who is comfortable like Ryan. Let’s be honest. Ryan Garcia has made tons of money elsewhere.
“Sometimes it’s hard for fighters to get motivated to say, ‘You know what? I want to challenge myself against this champion.’ If you’ve got a guy like Ryan Garcia, who in my opinion, has been spoiled by Golden Boy in terms of paying him so much money to fight lesser [opponents].
“When it’s time to fight the big challenges like we seen tonight, he’s not going to be ready because he hasn’t prepared himself for that. I felt like today, you can say that Luke Campbell was his biggest fight up until today.
“At the same time, Luke Campbell wasn’t a household name or a really big draw. He was a good fighter and an Olympic gold medalist. But in terms of the pro side of things, he didn’t pose much of a threat.
“So Ryan is obviously done at [135]. Do you believe he’ll be a factor when he moves up to 140 because there are some really talented guys up there? You’ve got Regis Prograis with a belt. You’ve got Teofimo Lopez and Josh Taylor fighting for a belt [WBO light welterweight title].”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPRHdz4DEiE&t=1027s