Oscar De La Hoya views the Luke Campbell vs. Ryan Garcia fight as the coming-out party for ‘Kingry’ Ryan when they meet up for their important lightweight clash. The WBC ordered the Garcia (20-0, 17 KOs) and Campbell (20-3, 16 KOs) to fight for their interim WBC lightweight title with the winner to challenge WBC 135-lb champ, Devin Haney.
Hearn says this the fight for the 21-year-old Ryan that will make believers out of the boxing public if he beats the 2012 Olympic gold medalist Campbell. Fans are still skeptical about the future of Garcia due to his age, and they see him as just a guy with a vast social media following.
In other words, Garcia is no different than the many other people on social media that have become popular for the way they look and the outrageous things they say. De La Hoya wants Ryan to be superstar, not outside of the ring, but inside as well.
He sees him as potentially winning world titles multiple divisions the way he did, and he’s hoping that his career will surpass his own. For those that don’t know, De La Hoya captured subdivision world titles before retiring young at 34 in 2008.
Golden Boy waiting for Hearn
“I guess he’s disagreeing publically, and it’s a shame because we only want the best for him as a friend and as a promoter,” said De La Hoya to DAZN. “As I said, when you have an adviser whispering in his ear and listening to his advisers on the wrong information.
“The WBC has ordered it, and we’re waiting for Eddie Hearn to make us the offer because he does promote Luke Campbell,” said De La Hoya when asked if Ryan Garcia will face Campbell next.
“That’s the fight that has to happen. It’s the WBC’s orders. That’s what exactly has to take place. It’s a great fight; it’s a difficult fight for both guys. It’s a real fight.
“I think it’ll be the first fight for fight fans, and the public will finally respect Ryan Garcia by beating Luke Campbell. So this is a fight that if it takes place, it’ll be a very entertaining pick-em fight,” said Oscar.
Matchroom Boxing has now made an offer to Golden Boy Promotions for the Garcia vs. Campbell fight, according to Mike Coppinger. The negotiations are continuing.
Fans will give Ryan Garcia a massive amount of respect if he’s able to defeat Campbell and look good in doing so. A highlight reel knockout win for Garcia would send his career into the stratosphere overnight.
That would be incredibly shocking, as Campbell has been in with Vasiliy Lomachenko and Jorge Linares, and neither of them was able to hurt him. Ryan is a bigger puncher than those two, so he’s got a chance of surprising a lot of boxing fans if he can score a knockout win over the 32-year-old Campbell.
Oscar believes he can turn Ryan Garcia into a superstar
“We strongly feel we can make Ryan Garcia a global superstar inside the ring,” said De La Hoya. “Yes, he does have the following, yes, he does have all these Instagram followers, but I want to make him a superstar inside the ring.
“I want to make him a world champion many times over. We can still do it; I will do it. He’s our fighter under Golden Boy. We have many more years to work with each other, and there’s nothing better than to see him blossom as a fighter and a person.
“As a promoter, it’s a lot of work for us, day in and day out. Sometimes it’s unfortunate that you have to babysit these fighters. But look, one thing about Ryan, he’s a very mature fighter.
“He knows what he wants, and as I said, this is family, and with family, you have squabbles. We’ll get over it.
“We had huge plans for him on July 4th,” continued De La Hoya on Ryan Garcia. I wanted to stage a major event on July 4th, and everyone has been affected. It’s been very difficult. Some fighters understand and fighters that don’t. I feel like we’ll get through this,” De La Hoya continued.
It’s going to be a lot tougher for Ryan Garcia to do the same things that De La Hoya did in moving up six weight divisions to win world titles. De La Hoya was a combination puncher who could box as well as punch with either hand.
Right now, Garcia is just a slugger, and he throws mainly potshots. Garcia is like the Deontay Wilder of the lightweight division. He can punch like a miniature Wilder, and he’s also just as flawed.
For Ryan to become a superstar, he’ll need to beat the likes of Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, Vasiliy Lomachenko, Teofimo Lopez, and Devin Haney. Boxing fans are already betting that Ryan will lose to Campbell, which means he’s not going to pan out the way Oscar is hoping.
De La Hoya WON’T be releasing Ryan Garcia
“It’s a matter of time, and we’ll move forward,” said De La Hoya. “He has my number. He knows where to get a hold of me,” De La Hoya said in talking about King Ryan.
I try to get a hold of him as well. Again, it’s unfortunate that he has advisers that are giving him the wrong information. Our job is to make him a world champion, and that’s what I’m going to continue doing.
“We have him on the right path. He’s a very talented fighter. We believe in him, and obviously, we have a long term contract together and pack together. I’m never going to stop believing in him,” said De La Hoya when asked if he’ll release Ryan Garcia early from his contract with Golden Boy.
“I want him to supersede what I did as well inside the ring. I want him to become a world champion many times over. It gives me great joy to see these fighters have their dreams come true, and have those titles around their waist.
“There’s nothing better for me than that, and that’s precisely why I’m promoting to make sure these fighters become world champions and live their dreams. I feel like Ryan Garcia can be one of the best fighters in the history of the sport.
“We have the potential to create a mega-star in Ryan Garcia, and that’s exactly what our plans our. We know how to do it before. Not only with myself but with fighters we’ve promoted in the past.
“And Ryan Garcia is the perfect candidate to become not only a champion but also become a superstar outside of the ring. That’s not easy, but we have the formula to do it,” said De La Hoya.
Ryan recently challenged Oscar to release him from his contract with Golden Boy if he didn’t believe in his ability to win world titles. De La Hoya is saying he does believe in him, and he’s going to try and continue developing him. The decision by Oscar to allow Ryan to face the experienced Campbell is a massive vote of confidence in him.
De La Hoya’s putting Garcia in a ‘sink or swim’ positon by matching him against the former two-time world title challenger Campbell, who is coming off of a 12 round decision loss to Vasiliy Lomachenko. It’s a risky fight for Ryan, but it’s also one that can pay off huge dividends.