Oscar Duarte is ready to pull off the upset of Ryan Garcia in their twelve round headliner clash this Saturday, December 2,live on DAZN at the Toyota Center in Houston.
Duarte (26-1-1, 21 KOs) is moving up from lightweight to take on Ryan (23-1, 19 KOs) in their main event fight on DAZN. Ryan is badly in need of a win to save his career after suffering a seventh round knockout loss to Gervonta Davis last April.
It’s safe to say that Ryan’s career will be in dire shape if he loses to Duarte, as this is not one of the killers.
Duarte is a no-name fighter who has fought only one semi-notable fighter in his career, journeyman Adrien Estrella in 2019, and he lost to him by a ten round split decision in 2019.
For Ryan, it might have been better if Golden Boy had at least matched him against a well-known fighter, preferably from the 140-lb weight class, like Arnold Barboza Jr or Jose Ramirez. If Ryan lost to one of those guys, there would be less of a backlash.
Rather than Golden Boy Promotions choosing a 140-pounder for the 25-year-old Ryan to fight, they’re playing it safe by picking Duarte out from the 135-lb division, hoping that things work well for their fighter.
Ryan took a knee and was counted out in the seventh round by Tank Davis last April in their mega-fight on DAZN & Showtime PPV. The fight was a huge commercial success, bringing in a large number of pay-per-view buys.
Unfortunately, it didn’t well for Ryan, who had dropped earlier in the fight from a shot to the head in the second, and then put on the canvas a second time from a body shot in the seventh.
Ryan was then counted out on one knee. Some boxing fans believe Ryan quit because he looked fine, bouncing to his feet after the referee reached the count of ten.
Duarte confident of victory against Ryan
“This is the best version I’ve felt. I’m a very strong lightweight. I’m stronger than ever. I feel great at 140,” said Oscar Duarte to the media, talking about his fight this Saturday night against Ryan Garcia on DAZN.
It’s good that Duarte is feeling that he’s at his best because he’s going to need to be 100% for him to win on Saturday. He’s got the power and toughness to win, but he’s never shown it against top-tier opposition during his ten-year professional career.
Duarte’s best win of his career was against journeyman Alex Martin, and that’s not nearly good enough to give him a good chance of defeating Ryan.
That said, if Duarte can focus on throwing to the body of Ryan, he has a good chance of forcing him to quit as he did against Gervonta Davis. Ryan clearly doesn’t take it well to the body, and he might fall apart if Duarte hits him squarely in the breadbasket.
“I’m very hungry. I have great managers. I have their support, and I’m ready to win,” Duarte continued. “I’m very hungry. I’ve been in boxing for fifteen years, and I want to take advantage of this. I’m going to do my best.
“The ones that are going to come out victorious are the fans, and I’m going to do my best, and I’m ready to become champion,” said Duarte.
This writer doesn’t know about Duarte ever becoming a champion at 135 or 140, but beating Ryan Garcia would be good enough for him to get a lucrative rematch and make life-changing money.
A win over Ryan would be the equivalent of a World Cup type of victory for Duarte, as it would open the doors for a lucrative rematch with Ryan, and if he beats him a second time, he’ll be in demand for the popular lightweight world champions Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson.
“He gave a good fight and took a good hit, and he couldn’t continue,” said Duarte about Ryan Garcia losing to Gervonta Davis by a seventh round knockout last April.
I don’t know about Ryan giving Tank Davis a good fight of it, but he was able to hang around, thanks to Gervonta backing off after dropping him early, and he at least made it to the seventh round.
“I’m focusing on my strategy. I feel like I’m at my best, and I’m going to do my best on December 2nd,” said Duarte. “It’s good [Ryan’s left hook], he’s fast, and he has power, but I’m getting ready for that. I’m prepared, and I’m ready.
Ryan won’t land his left hook says Duarte
“No, he’s not going to be able to land it,” said Duarte about Ryan’s powerful left hook smash. “I’m prepared for that. I have good defense. That’s just what I’m going to do.”
Ryan will land his left hook smash at some point in the fight because that’s essentially all he throws. His offensive arsenal is extremely limited to just a weak, weaker right hand, and his left hook Razor Ruddock-like smash punch that he throws.
If Ryan hits Duarte cleanly with his smash punch, it’s going to be night-night for the little-known fringe contender. That punch is hard to take if Ryan lands it flush, so Duarte must do all he can to avoid getting hit with it.
Gervonta did a good job of avoiding getting nailed by that shot from Ryan, but he had a lot of weapons that made him wary of loading up with that punch.
“Yes, I’ve never liked getting hit. Boxing is about hitting and not getting hit,” said Duarte. “But if he does hit me, I’m going to take it. What you’re going to see is the best Oscar and the fast Oscar. It’s going to be a good fight.”
Duarte’s past opposition has been so poor that there’s no way of knowing how well he’ll react to getting nailed by Ryan’s left hooks. If he can take the shot, he’s going to be a nightmare for Ryan because he’s going to attack his weak, bird-like body, and have him on the canvas at some point in the fight.
“I’m not going to look for the knockout because it’s going to come. I’m just going to do my job from round one,” said Duarte.
The Ryan Garcia vs. Oscar Duarte fight is happening live on DAZN on December 2. Here’s when you should tune in:
- If you’re in the USA or Canada, catch the main card at 8 p.m. ET or 5 p.m. PT. Expect Garcia and Duarte to enter the ring around 11:15 p.m. ET or 8:15 p.m. PT.
- Over in the UK and Ireland? The action starts early Sunday, December 3, at 1 a.m. GMT, with the main event walk-ins around 4:15 a.m. GMT.
- For fans in Australia, the main card begins at 12 p.m. AEDT on Sunday, December 3, and the big fight around 3:15 p.m. AEDT.
