The hottest star in boxing right now, Ryan Garcia seemingly has no shortage of big fight options going forward. Garcia may have blown making weight ahead of Saturday night’s fight with Devin Haney, but what a great performance it was from Garcia, and what a great, dramatic, knockdown-filled battle it turned out to be in New York.
Garcia, 25-1(20) shocked us all with his focused, largely composed, accurate-punching display, this after so many of us had been openly concerned about Garcia’s mental state in the days and weeks leading up to the Haney fight. Garcia, though, showed stamina, heart, skill, and heavy hands, his left hook especially being a real weapon of force.
Now, looking ahead, Garcia has already spoken about moving up in weight, saying he can no longer make the 140 pound weight limit (again, Garcia didn’t make it ahead of the biggest win of his career so far). This means we could see some big fights at welterweight that feature Garcia, while “KingRy” even spoke about a move up to 154 and a challenge of recently crowned WBO champ Sebastian Fundora.
Here are some possible fights for Garcia, fights we would all tune in for:
Devin Haney.
The rematch would be huge, and though he has said his 140 pound days are behind him, Garcia knows money talks, and if the rematch is fan-demanded, with the promoters telling Garcia it would make mega-money, maybe Garcia will be tempted to make 140 this time, and challenge for the WBC belt Haney still holds. Or maybe this one could happen again but at a catch-weight?
Tank Davis.
Does Garcia crave revenge over the only man to have beaten him? Did the making weight for this catch-weight bout deplete Garcia? Golden Boy head Oscar De La Hoya has already said this is a rematch that will only happen at a catch-weight. The first fight between Davis and Garcia was big, a rematch could be a real monster.
Sebastian Fundora.
Can Garcia really go up as high as 154 and be effective, as he says he can? Going up from 140 to 154 is of course quite a jump, and who knows how the added pounds would affect Garcia’s speed and power, t say nothing of his ability to take a good shot from bigger fighters. But Garcia says he has sparred bigger guys and he feels he can indeed go up and beat Fundora, by knockout.
Terence Crawford.
A long-shot, no doubt. Crawford is set to move up to 154 himself, in the late summer. But Garcia did call out Crawford when he was acting crazy in the run-up to the Haney fight. Was Garcia being serious? Again, it’s a long-shot, but what if Crawford won a world title at 154, with Garcia doing likewise? Could the two then meet in what could be a really fascinating match up?
