Mikey Garcia is picking Golden Boy star Ryan ‘Kingry’ Garcia (20-0, 17 KOs) to knock out #2 WBC Luke Campbell this year they meet up for the interim WBC lightweight title.
The World Boxing Council ordered Ryan, 21, to face Campbell (20-3, 16 KOs) with the winner to challenge WBC 135-pound champion, Devin Haney.
Golden Boy has agreed to let their young strong-headed Ryan take the fight with the more experienced Campbell, even though many boxing fans are predicting that he’ll lose.
According to Mikey, it’s the “perfect fight” for King Ryan, and he sees him going out there and stopping the 2012 Olympic gold medalist Campbell. Golden Boy is taking a risk in letting Ryan face Campbell, and some believe that they’re doing this to teach him a lesson in rushing things with his career.
Golden Boy wants to move the young Garcia strategically, and he seems to be resisting that idea. For example, Ryan has been calling out WBA lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis for well over a year despite the huge risk a fight like that would involve.
Ryan Garcia will knock out Luke Campbell
“I think Ryan knocks him out. This is the perfect fight for Ryan,” said Mikey Garcia to Fighthype in predicting a victory for Ryan Garcia over Luke Campbell. “I think he knocks out Luke Campbell, looks great, and becomes the interim champion now.
“I saw something about making him an interim champion. So, he’ll now be considered a champion, and I think it’s a perfect match-up and fight for him,” said Mikey on Ryan becoming interim WBC champion after he beats Campbell.
If Ryan lands one of his big left hooks, he’s a good chance of hurting Campbell. Whether the shot would be big enough to stop the British fighter is another question.
Campbell can take a good punch. In the fights that Campbell has been dropped, he’s always gotten back up and performed well. If Ryan can’t knockout Campbell, he’s going to have a tough fight on his hands.
The guys that Golden Boy has been putting Ryan in with lacked punching power and offensive skills to worry him. Campbell has the offensive tools to beat Ryan, and potentially knock him out.
Assuming that Ryan loses this fight with Luke, it’s going to be interesting to see whether he lets Golden Boy direct his career from that point on.
Ryan could deal with his Golden Boy issues better
“From what I’ve seen, they’ve always had on and off periods,” said Mikey about the problems Ryan Garcia has been having with Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy. “Sometimes they’re buddy-buddy friends, and other times they’re not the best friends.
“If you have to say something to get your manager or promoter to do what you want to get the fight that you want, and you have to throw it out there, it can work. It’s been working for him apparently.
“He’s been getting good fights and good deals. I think there are probably better ways to do that professionally. If you have to do that and if that’s what it takes, but I think there are other ways to get to the same designation.
“If it doesn’t work, then I guess you have to do it. Maybe they have tried. I’m not there, so I can’t [say]. I can give you my opinion, but I don’t know the facts. I handled it differently,” said Mikey about his problems with Top Rank when he was signed with them.
“Some would say that it was stupid what I did in sitting out for two and a half years. Some may see that as dumb. I handled it that way. It was a different scenario. I was in a legal dispute in a lawsuit, so it was different,” said Garcia.
The Tweeting that Ryan Garcia has done in the past when he’s had problems with Golden Boy is something he would be better off refraining from. It’s always better for a fighter to talk with his promoters one-on-one when they have issues with them instead of airing their dirty laundry in the public.
Golden Boy doing a good job with Ryan Garcia
“I see Golden Boy as a company, and they have to look after their interests, and they also have to look after their fighters,” continued Mikey on Ryan Garcia vs. De La Hoya situation.
“Do you support what the fighter says, or do you look after your business first? And that’s not always the most easiest decision. Golden Boy might be willing to take care of Ryan and guide him in a preferred way with preferred match-ups rather than just giving Ryan what he’s asking for because they look after their business as I said.
“But if you don’t do what a fighter wants, then you’re going to be beefing with them. He’s not happy, and if he’s not happy, then things start falling apart. So it’s not an easy decision to make. But overall, I think they’ve done a very good job with Ryan.
“They’ve made him a big star now. He himself has made himself a big star, but they’re still working together. So they’re able to put their differences aside and keep working together. So they’ve done a very good job,” said Mikey.
Golden Boy has done an excellent job of picking out the opposition King Ryan has been facing. His perfect 20-0 record speaks for itself. If Golden Boy had thrown Ryan to the wolves early on, there’s a good chance he’d have three or four losses on his record now, and his career would be in shambles.