Trainer Ronnie Shields predicts that Ryan Garcia will be one of the “top 140-pounders” in the light welterweight division in moving up in weight after his disappointing loss to Gervonta Davis.
Shields believes that Ryan (23-1, 19 KOs) has the talent to be one of the best in the 140-lb division, which some boxing fans feel is unlikely.
The lack of discipline from Ryan could be a problem for him at light welterweight because many of them hit as hard as Tank Davis, some even harder.
At 135, Ryan didn’t look sharp in his fights against marginal opposition in Carlos Morales, Luke Campbell, and Emmanuel Tagoe. Some boxing fans believe Morales deserved the win over Ryan in their fight in 2018, which was ruled a 10 round majority decision for Kingry.
At 140, Ryan is going to have to prove himself against these killers for him to be one of the best:
- Subriel Matias
- Regis Prograis
- Josh Taylor
- Gary Antuanne Russell
- Arnold Barboza
- Jose Ramirez
- Teofimo Lopez
- Sandor Martin
- Richardson Hitchins
Ryan can’t count on being maneuvered around the best and immediately given a world title shot coming off a knockout loss like we’re seeing with Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero.
Rolly is coming off a year layoff and a knockout loss to Tank Davis, and he’s being allowed to fight for the vacant WBA 140-lb title against 40-year-old Ismael Barroso.
Ryan would look as bad as Rolly if this is what his promoters at Golden Boy put him in the same situation.
The reality is that the only way Ryan can prove he’s one of the best at 140 is to go through the likes of Jose Ramirez, Subriel Matias, Regis Prograis, and Gary Antuanne Russell. Based on how Ryan looked against Gervonta, Campbell, Tagoe, and Morales, he’ll never beat those guys!
Can Ryan Garcia be a top fighter at 140?
“I would tell him to keep his head up. You win some, you lose some,” said trainer Ronnie Shields to Fight Hub TV about what he would say to Ryan Garcia after his loss to Grevonta Davis.
“He needs to go to 140 lbs, and I think he’s going to be really good there, and he’s going to be one of the top 140-pounders in the world,” Shields continued about Kingry Garcia.
“I think both guys [Gervonta and Ryan] did a great job and were in shape. Gervonta is a smart fighter, and he made Ryan make mistakes, and that was his game plan. His game plan worked really well for him.
“Ryan got caught with a punch that I’ve seen so many fighters get caught with that punch. So he’s not the only person that has been caught with a punch that has had a delayed reaction. It happens. This is the sport of boxing. It’s something that happens, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
“What they don’t understand is that when you get hit with a shot like that, it doesn’t affect you right away. It takes a second or two, and then all of a sudden, it’s like your whole body is shut down.
“That’s what you saw [from Ryan in the seventh round against Tank Davis]. He started going back, and then he went down, and his body was shutting down. Trust me; it’s hard to get up from that shot.
“I’ve seen Ryan get knocked down and get right back up. I expected him to get right back up. I think it was more of a flash knockdown than anything, but he’s a fighter. He fought his a** off. Look, you can’t win them all.
Tank took advantage of Ryan’s anxiousness
“Well, after the first round, he got a little anxious, and he tried to pick up the pace,” said Shields about Ryan.”That’s what Gervonta was waiting on. He was waiting on him to start throwing punches so he could start countering him.
“I would have to be in camp with him [Ryan] to understand what his style really is to tweak here and tweak there.
“I like Rolly [Romero], but I would like to see Isaac Cruz again,” said Shields when asked who Tank Davis should fight next. “I think that would be an interesting fight to me.
“Once you sign the contract, no excuse,” Shields said when asked if the rehydration clause affected Ryan Garcia.
