Boy oh boy, did things get ugly at the prefight presser on Thursday for Ryan Garcia versus Oscar Duarte. All jokes aside, did we see more drama outside the ring than what will take place inside the ring on Saturday? For those who cared, the fight between Ohara Davies and Ismael Barroso has been postponed due to visa issues. This GBP card will be streaming on DAZN Saturday night, live from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
Regardless of the opinions folks have at the back and forth between Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins, and Ryan Garcia, we have a fight to break down. Since the folks on the stage didn’t waste any time jumping into the juicy stuff might as well do the same. ‘King’ Ryan Garcia returns to the ring for the first time since taking a loss to the money man Gervonta Davis. Oscar Duarte is a suitable enough opponent to get back on the horse that bucked Garcia off last April. An interesting tidbit that could mean something overall is Ryan Garcia joining Derrick James’s stable down in Texas.
Oscar Duarte has a record of 26-1-1, 21 of those victories coming via stoppage. His only loss came by a split decision to Adrian Estrella in 2019. The draw on his record happened in his third fight of a career that got started in 2013. Duarte’s best victory against Alex Martin showed he does have some items that Ryan Garica will have to be aware of. It also presented a few opportunities for Ryan to win by knockout.
Let’s start with Duarte’s high guard defense, which is too ear-muff-ish for this boxing podcaster. Oscar does a good job of head and upper body movement, but with that type of guard, he leaves his body open for damage. Duarte throws hooks with both hands, but in the meanwhile, his head is wide open to be hit; in other words, no telephone to his ear. So look for the hook counter or during an exchange of hooks at the most likely end game. He likes to lead with a roundhouse right hand and can also counter pretty well with it.
Duarte has a fairly high work rate and throws a crafty sweeping right hand to the body. Overall, Oscar has good hand speed but is a bit too robotic on offense. Duarte will look to do what he did to Alex Martin by wearing Ryan Garcia down and working to body and head. It may take a few rounds for Ryan to time Oscar, but when that time comes, it will be curtains. The old saying “you can’t hook with a hooker” applies perfectly as both men love to throw hooks. The problem for Duarte is Garcia’s left hook is tighter, faster, and has concussive power on it. That said, Oscar does have power, too, so anything can happen.
My Official Prediction is Ryan Garcia by stoppage mid-rounds.
Side Note: The fight week drama and long standing soap opera in front of the public to see between Ryan Garcia and Golden Boy Promotions is a sight for sore eyes. It’s been entertaining, and neither side is innocent, of course, but this boxing junkie won’t be shocked when Ryan Garcia becomes a free agent by hook or crook, to add another old-school saying.
Written by Chris Carlson, Host/Producer of The Rope A Dope Radio Podcast Available at www.blogtalkradio.com/ropeadoperadio Follow on Twitter @RopeADopeRadio