Ryan ‘Kingry’ Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) is ready for the big time against unbeaten Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis following his seventh-round body shot knockout win over Luke Campbell (20-4, 16 KOs) on Saturday night at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
There was a big celebration by Garcia, Golden Boy, Canelo Alvarez, and trainer Eddy Reynoso after the fight had ended. They were all pleased about King Ryan’s win, but that happiness could prove to be short-lived if he goes ahead with his dreams of fighting Tank Davis.
Garcia didn’t waste any time before calling out unbeaten WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Tank Davis after stopping the 33-year-old Campbell in the seventh.
The question is, should Golden Boy Promotions let Ryan face Tank yet? It was quite clear from Ryan’s performance against Luke, which wasn’t overly impressive, that he’s not ready yet for a fighter the caliber of Davis (24-0, 23 KOs).
Ryan Garcia wants Tank next
Campbell knocked Ryan down in the second round, and his punches seemed to bother him the entire fight.
The kind of shots that Davis will be hitting Ryan with would be on another level, and there would be a lot of them. Campbell had no inside game to worry Ryan with tonight, but you bet that Davis would give him a lot to think about.
“Let’s go,” said Ryan Garcia in calling out Tank Davis. “You definitely saw vulnerability, I got dropped,” said Ryan to Little Giant Boxing. “I want to get that on as I said.
“This is all I’ve ever wanted to do, and I’m a man of my word. If you don’t pick this fight, then you’re not picking legacy because the money is there. I’m ready.
“The money is there. I did get dropped, but I got up and showed what I can do,” Ryan said.
Ryan will probably get the Tank fight, but he’ll be sorry if he does. He needs more fights before facing the likes of Tank. This writer would suggest that Ryan get in six to ten more fights against top-level guys before he considers facing Tank.
Some boxing fans think Ryan will be ready for Tank in two fights. I’m afraid I have to disagree. He’s not going to be ready because the guys that Golden Boy Promotions will likely feed Ryan will be the Francisco Fonseca and Romero Duno types.
He’s not going to learn anything from beating lesser opposition that is knocked out in the first round by him.
King Ryan comparing himself to Muhammad Ali
“Before Muhammad Ali fought Sonny Liston, he got dropped by Henry Cooper, remember that,” said Ryan.
“They thought I was a soft pretty boy that wouldn’t amount to anything, but I’m giving everything,” said Ryan Garcia.
“I knew that even if I got dropped, I was going to give a hell of a performance. I trained for 12 rounds, so I was ready,” said Ryan.
It’s silly of Ryan Garcia to be comparing himself to Muhammad Ali in talking about being knocked down.
Besides the fact that Ali was a far, far better fighter than what Ryan can ever hope to be, but this knockdown that he suffered against Campbell is likely just the beginning.
Ryan is talking as if there won’t be additional knockdowns suffered by him when he takes on the likes of Tank Davis and the other top lightweights.
Predictably, Ryan will be dropped repeatedly if he takes on Tank, Vasily Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez. If Ryan is going to use Muhammad Ali being knocked down as a way of getting fans to ignore his problems won’t work.
It could end up making Ryan looked wretched if he gets dropped three or four times by Tank Davis, and he tells fans after that Ali got dropped.
Garcia says he beat Campbell at his best
“I think this was the best Luke Campbell, in my opinion,” said Ryan. “I told you that once he fled that shot, he wasn’t going to want to fight, and that’s what happened.
“The guy that won two Olympic gold medals, Lomachenko, couldn’t knock him out nor [Jorge] Linares. I’m 22-years-old and I knocked him out,” Ryan said in bragging about his win over Campbell.
“That should tell you something. I am special. I got up off the canvas. Hey, how many times did Muhammad Ali get dropped?
“You get back up and you fight. I want Tank, that’s who I want. I showed that I’m a man and a champion.
“I showed what I can do when I get dropped. I know that Tank is an explosive puncher. You saw that he had trouble with Leo Santa Cruz. I can give him problems too and come out victorious,” Ryan Garcia said.
Ryan is dreaming if he thinks he beat the best version of Campbell. This wasn’t the best Campbell we’ve seen.
Additionally, Ryan didn’t do a better job beating Campbell than Lomachenko and Linares.
Yeah, Ryan knocked out Campbell, but he struggled the whole way against him. Linares and Lomachenko both dominated Campbell, and they didn’t hit the deck fighting him like Ryan.
Campbell heartbroken about loss
“I’m heartbroken what happened in the ring, I didn’t get the win,” said Luke Campbell to Fighthype in reacting to his loss to Ryan Garcia. “As a team, we worked so hard. Ryan got a great win tonight.
Lost in the celebration after the fight was the question of what happens with Campbell now? The defeat for him was the fourth in the last six years, and it’s come at the wrong time.
At 33, Campbell has to face some truths about his dwindling career opportunities.
The loss to the young upstart Ryan Garcia will likely knock him out of the top five with the World Boxing Council. It’s questionable whether Campbell will be able to get back to where he was at #3 to put himself in position for another title eliminator.
Campbell has got to make a decision about whether it’s worth it for him to continue his career.
The money that Campbell can make fighting contenders isn’t going to be the same as he would get if he were given a title shot against WBC champion Devin Haney or unified champion Tefoimo Lopez.
But those guys aren’t going to want to fight Campbell now, as he’s tarnished due to his knockout defeat. Campbell looked huge compared to Ryan inside the ring.
If Campbell’s punch resistance were better, I’d say he should move up to 140 and try competing in that weight class.
I don’t think that’s a good idea. If Campbell is struggling to take the power shots from 135-pounders, he won’t do well at 140.
Canelo praises Ryan Garcia
“He has a lot of courage and a lot of heart to get up the way he did and come out victorious and show the world what he has,” said Canelo Alvarez after the fight. “There’s a lot of potential for great fights.”
“Everybody has to come after his crown,” said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya about the crown that Ryan was wearing on his head after the fight.
Ryan Garcia does have a lot of opportunities for important fights, starting with a title shot against Gervonta Davis in the first half of this year.
Davis vs. Garcia will likely be a pay-per-view fight, and it could bring in a lot of fans if they stage it in a stadium in Texas. You can argue that Ryan Garcia will be experiencing his 15 minutes of fame, as he’s likely to be beaten badly by Davis.
What Canelo isn’t saying about Ryan is that all those fights that are available to him could dry up if Tank Davis obliterates him.
That’s why Ryan must choose wisely by going after the biggest paying fight that he can get because he’s likely to lose to all of the top guys at 135.
The way Ryan fought tonight, he’ll be food for Teofimo Lopez, Vasily Lomachenko, or Devin Haney. Ryan hasn’t been mentioning Lomachenko, and it’s not surprising. If what Loma says is true about Ryan running for the “trenches” when they sparred together, a fight between them would be one-sided.
After seeing how Ryan fought against Campbell, no one would pick him to beat Lomachenko. Even the one-armed injured Lomachenko we saw against the huge blown up Teofimo Lopez last October would toy with Ryan.
It wouldn’t be a fight, as far as I’m concerned. Ryan has too many flaws, and he’s not going to fix all those holes in his game before fighting Lomachenko.
I think Ryan knows he wouldn’t stand a chance against Lomachenko. Hence, he’s not mentioning him at all.
Instead, Ryan is arguably looking for that cash-out fight against Tank Davis, which is easily the best-paying match for him at 135.
There’s nothing wrong with Ryan cashing out, is there? If Ryan is going to lose, he might as well make the most money he can by fighting Tank Davis rather than absorbing an embarrassing loss to Teofimo, Devin Haney, or Lomachenko.