By Jeff Zimmerman at ringside
Lightweight Ryan “KingRy” Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) proved once again he is more than a social media sensation with his close to 8M followers on Instagram and showed he’s the real deal in the ring with his 7th round knockout of UK star Luke “Cool Hands” Campbell (20-4, 16 KOs) to claim the vacant WBC interim lightweight title on Saturday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
Campbell was supposed to be Garcia’s toughest fight to date, at least on paper, and after he dropped Garcia with a massive left hook to the jaw in the 2nd round, it clearly looked to be the case. But Garcia, who has never been on the canvas, got quickly to his feet and continued to take the fight to Campbell who tried to counteract the insane speed of Garcia with timing counter shots of his own. Garcia would have had most opponents out of there early, but Campbell stood strong and was able to take everything thrown at him to that point.
But then came the seventh round of the scheduled twelve, when Garcia landed a blistering left to the body that put Campbell to his knees. The shot debilitated Campbell as he did everything he could to get back to his feet as referee Laurence Cole counted to ten. The time was 1:58 of round seven.
Garcia told DAZN’s Chris Mannix after the fight that he told everyone it would be a body shot and he delivered. He then asked the pro-Garcia sellout crowd who they wanted him to fight next as his long time amateur rival, and current WBC lightweight champ Devin Haney was in attendance. Garcia stated he prefers Tank Davis, but wouldn’t mind fighting Haney, as he looked over in Haney’s direction.
The 22-year-old Garcia showed he is potentially boxing’s next superstar with his Hollywood good looks and crowd pleasing performances after stopping the former Olympic Gold Medalist Campbell who has been in title fights with both Linares and Lomachenko the last few years, both losses. But none of this worried Garcia leading up to the biggest fight of his career to date, who has been training under the tutelage of Eddy Reynoso and working out with the current pound-for-pound king Canelo Alvarez who was in attendance to show his support for his stablemate.
After tonight, Garcia is clearly on his way to taking the torch from Canelo, who won in San Antonio a few weeks ago against another Brit, Callum Smith. And don’t be surprised to see Garcia back in Dallas down the road as Texas is one of Golden Boys favorite landing spots and a city that won a contest by Garcia a few years ago by showing the most support in the country as Garcia came and did a meet and greet for hundreds of adoring fans, mostly young girls in their early teens. Fast forward a few years later and Garcia showed all that early social media work and the work in the gym as well was just the beginning of his rise to superstar status in and out of the ring,
Garcia’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, knows something about being a superstar in and out of the ring in his hall of fame career as he gave his prized pupil an A+ after that performance and when asked by Fightnews.com® if he was Oscar 2.0 at the pre-fight presser, Oscar said he was Oscar 5.0. After tonight, Fightnews.com® asked again and Oscar said 6.0 as he laughed at hearing the question again.
De La Hoya added, “This is the kind of fight where superstars are made. Down on the mat early for the first time in his career, Ryan got up, rallied, broke down his man and got the knockout. Everyone in the lightweight division should consider themselves on notice. 2021 will be the year of Ryan García.”
Garcia proved nothing was going to stop him tonight.
“My performance definitely showed a lot of people who I really am,” said Ryan Garcia. “Going into this fight I wanted to show people that you are not what people call you. You are what you choose to be. I chose to be a champion tonight. I didn’t let anything stop me from being a champion tonight. Even when he dropped me, I knew that couldn’t stop me from being champion.”
He has been tested, I think he is for real
Agreed. Well said. Garcia’s counter punching is a weapon in his arsenal.
Hell of a war for BOTH Garcia and Campbell. Both looked great exchanging punches toe to toe. Then Campbell drops Garcia hard and Garcia comes back with a brutal body shot that I even felt. Great fight and great ending! Who’s next for Garcia in 2021?
Great test for Garcia. I favored him to win from the get-go in this match up. I would like to see Garcia’s trainers focus more on head movement and better defense. Garcia’s left hook is a great equalizer in his orthodox stance.
rematch
I was going crazy in the second when QueenRy was flat on his back, why didn’t Campbell go in for the kill?!!!? The fight was closer than the unofficial score, most of QueenRy’s punches were blocked by Campbell. Disappointing outcome for sure. Would love to see QueenRy fight Lopez, Lopez will surely flatten him.
I like websites that use open forums for comment sections so even the dumbest comments don’t get moderated.
Translation: “I hate it when comments I don’t agree with don’t get censored.”
“News Flash,” hater alert just went off…
Tank Davis is gonna knock Garcia out. We’ve heard that old saying:be careful what you ask for.
MGB, nah. Kingly wins that one but loses to teo.
@berserker i agree Campbell drops him dirty and doesnt go in for the kill? almost like he wanted to say oooops sorry Oscar lol also anybody notice during the fighters were being introduced that Luke looked very dry and lathargic? i bet Tank has already signed the contract but i bet Oscar either tears it up or stalls lmao
Boxing Historian
Sounds like a witch hunt
Well you might be wrong, again.
Berserker, is trying to make the analogy that he is gay by calling him a queen supposed to make you feel tougher about yourself? He dominated most of the fight and while he may be a “pretty boy,” he can still fight and I’m pretty sure kick the shite out of you. He proved he is more than what most felt he was, a hype job and took out an opponent that nobody else could do.
BIG win. good for Garcia. hopefully he will become as big of a star as he thinks he is
Chin has been tested and passed!!! He took a damn helluva shot and came back like a champ!!
well i wouldnt go that far id say his chin has been exposed……. ill let Tank, Lopez and even lighter punching Haney take it from here lol
@Boxing Historian, “News Flash,” hater alert went off again…
Historian, get over it dude. I dont care who u are, u take a shot like that from Campbell, rarely do u get up.
Tank got hurt by Santa Cruz. KINGRY would destroy him
Garcia looked good, but needs more experience at this level. A little more patience and control. The ” imma get you back now !! ” when receiving a hard shot will get him in trouble moving forward.
There’s Tank, Garcia, Haney and Teo…
In the end, who stays undefeated? Or will they all come off with at least 1 loss by fighting one another.
well after seeing that glass jaw get exposed id say theres……Lopez, Davis, Haney and Loma garcia will get KOd by any of them and also to note if ANY of those fighters had dropped him like Luke did guarantee you they finish him that round and not back off like it was an accident
Glass jaw..? Anyone can get caught at anytime. It’s how(and if) you recover that makes all the difference in the world. Some people recover from getting knocked down, others don’t.
Just Garcia entrance was a bit ridiculous, kind of imitation of Macho Camacho or Prince Neseem Hamed, but the fight lived up to the expectations. Honestly, Garcia should get rid of the bad habit to drop his right hand, because is a big difference between a clean shot from Campbell than a one from Gervonta or Teofimo. None of them will allow him to survive. Hope he learned the lesson.
just think if Tank, Lopez or Haney or even Loma drop him like that their not ging to back off like it was an accident
The kids just coming up. He got caught clean and got dropped. He got up right away and was overly aggressive. What if it was…whoever….that hit him. It wasn’t. It was Campbell. And Garcia responded well, if not too recklessly. Not saying hes the next great thing. I will, however, watch the young man try his best to be. He passed the test before him. He’s still undefeated. I think some people watch these guys under a micro scope. How about just enjoy watching them ply their craft ??
2centsworth – Agree, all boxers have their strong but also weak points – Important we all enjoy the sport. This was a good enjoyable fight.
When kingry got dropped as soon as he got up you can tell he recovered well,his legs were there they weren’t wobbly as that’s why I’m guessing Campbell didnt go for the kill
I don’t count Tank at 135 because he under Mayweather promotion so he’ll fight tomato can untill the top 4 at 135 get of age or old but Ryan still
has Haney,Lopez, and other 135 but we will see I don’t think Tank will fight him not that’s he’s scared but he’s under the Mayweather rule of thought if y’all boxing fans know what I mean
So you don’t know boxing…. Got it.
Slim you’re a hater that makes no sense, people only say that after Mayweather beat their favorite fighter let me guess yours is Pac-Man . Tank wants the fight and he’s older than all those fighters except Loma so your logic sounds dumb. And Mayweather was older than all the fighters you thought would beat him!!!
Hey Ace i’am and old school type boxing fan I’m 47 years old been watching boxing for a long time back in the 80’s and 90’s all i’am saying is that it’s to many hands in the pot of Boxing the guys want to fight but it’s to many promotions companies I can’t count on my fingers so my favorite fighter right now is Terrance Crawford not PAC man if if you want to get technical Mayweather and PAC should have fought between 2009 and 2015 who fault that was all i’am saying I remember fighters like Ali Roy Jones Hagler Suger Ray Lenord all fought don’t know how old u are so I just thing Tank want these fight but Garcia will fight Haney next because Mayweather going to bring up Tank softly that’s it
I’m 42 been watching boxing since I was a kid, I see it different he beat an undefeated Pedraza easier than Loma did. I do agree too many divided promotional companies PBC, Top Rank, Golden Boy & Dazn causing some of the best fights to not be made. That’s the biggest issue as well as egos everybody wants to be the A-side which makes it even harder. I think Tank is ready and I believe Mayweather thinks he’s ready I think the biggest hurdle is promotional divide.
I think golden boy and Eddie hearn willingly take risks but pbc and Bob hate each other and to a degree protect their fighters the year is young now ry should fight rolly or linares the man that beat Campbell and then challenge for one of the belts at the end of the year davis teo or Hanney
Professor 14
Agreed!!
Hearn takes big risks as we seen with Smith and Campbell. Haymon would only put his fighters in with Tomato cans.
I agree Ace
I think tank is best out of them 4 the way he beat Leo was more convincing to me that teofimo vs loma.
Kid has a lot of power but he was dropped by a guy with not very much power. Then they celebrated like he won the title. Campbell has 3 defeats. Lol. Now with an interim title there is nothing for him but to challenge Haney.
He actually gets hurt a lot, he’s was stunned badly by a jab in one of his fights. he’s basically a Mexican Amir Khan; fast hands, reflexes, good movement.. But peanut skull, long thin neck, weak defence which = KO waiting to happen.
Wouldn’t you celebrate like that from getting dropped for the first time in his career a feeling he never felt before to bounce back and get the win from that viscous body punch?
No. That was ignorant. He was the favorite. He should’ve acted like he’d been there before. That was a joke.
I don’t think KingRy finishes his career as an all-time great but he is fun to watch, is attracting a lot of young people to the sport of boxing & seems willing to fight the best. If he starts putting young people in boxing gyms I will not complain.
Bullshit stoppage, ref counted way to fast.
Would like to see Garcia fight the paper champ Haney, But if he choses Tank then so be it.
I wasn’t impressed at all by Ryan Garcia, He’s got hand speed but virtually no defence & is wide open. I’m not hating just being real here..Luke Campbell is one of those good amateur fighters who never could transition over successfully to the pros. Ryan got dropped by Campbell who’s a non-puncher. Imagine if garica gets hit solid on the chin by tank, it’s gonna be lights out.
Teo. Tank. Garcia. Haney. I would sure love to see who’s 0 goes this year.
Garcia came off the canvas in the second and fought back well. Campbell was his toughest fight up until the final stoppage it was interesting. Gutierrez was in a war and came back well to take the win.
Based on tonight’s performance I believe Garcia beats Haney and tank. But Teofimo will knock him out. If Campbell put him on the canvas like he did, then Lopez will keep him there. However, I have to give credit to Garcia for getting up and finishing Campbell with a nice body shot. Probably because he couldn’t hit the brit clean enough in the head, due to the lack of boxing intelligence and skill. His hand speed, size and power are making up for that deficiency……… For now. If Campbell was a bigger puncher he would have knocked Garcia out tonight.
Agreed Chris!!! I believe Garcia has what it takes to be a superstar BUT defensively, he needs work. I also think he can beat Haney, since Haney is not a hard puncher BUT Tank, idk. 1 wrong move and Tank knocks him out cold like Santa Cruz. Garcia needs a few more fights before the A side fighters.
Slow down guy’s Tank was struggling with a bantamweight in Santa Cruz before the knock out blow ! Ryan is gonna smash him easier than Campbell because he is way smaller and not better at all.. he got just more power that’s all.. he looks like a bodybuilded dwarf with no neck !
And Haney is better than Tank you really dont know the sport or what ?! Like the kids do, you are just watching the power and if the guy is undefeated or not. But by fighting cabdrivers you can stay undefeated a long time ! I can make you a list of undefeated power punchers who as soon as they step up were beaten : Lacy, Kirkland etc..
Regis: really dont know the sport? My fighters have sparred with both tank and Haney n did well with both. Ive seen habits from both fighters. Ive also seen when Tank gets pissed, he has this awkward burst of unrealistic power.. skill wise, pretty good. Timing, good, n power, great. I do know a lil about boxing lol… Fought for 16 years trained fighters for 7
why don’t he fight the real bad a_ s in the division M. Berchelt. Then he gets some bonus points.
Benchley is at 130 not 135
Berchelt
Wow another boxing specialist here Berchelt isn’t even in the lightweight division first and Ryan would stop him inside 4 !
Campbell is going to have to live with the mistake for the rest of his life by not jumping on Garcia like an animal after that knockdown.
Not hating on the kid, just an honest assessment. He stopped a tough opponent tonight, good win for him, but I wasn’t too impressed. He has a good left hook and decent right hand, but jumps in recklessly. His defense is porous and nobody has mentioned on this thread that his chin is up in the air when he punches and pulls back. Coupled with that long neck, he’s a brutal KO waiting to happen by any of the other top lightweights, especially Tank and Teo. He has an upside because he is very young and could learn some things from the pound for pound King, Canelo Alvarez.
Yeah that’s very true about the long neck, he also has a pretty small head. So he’s already physically susceptible to getting knocked out without even mentioning his horrendous defence.
And you are just a f… hater. And we’re old school here stay away from this website please. That is a website for grown ass men’s who are loving and knowing the sport of boxing..
Ryan Garcia is a tremendous offensive fighter with some defensive flaws that leave him vulnerable. He punches in combination, is extremely quick with his hands, and gets great leverage on his shots. Unlike Canelo, who moves his head and body and slips punches, Garcia does not move his head and is a stationary target for a counterpuncher. Most opponents won’t be able to take advantage of that because of Garcia’s offensive arsenal.
We now know that Garcia can fight back from adversity and continue to attack. He looked much bigger than the slim Campbell, and I can see him moving into a higher weight class sooner rather than later. He landed the body shot as he was moving in and had a lot of leverage on it. However, it was set up by a temple shot with the left hook at the end of the 5th round that had Campbell turning his back to hang on the ropes. That temple shot was the beginning of the end. Campbell was fortunate the round ended just as he reached the ropes.
It was a great performance by Garcia. He did something that no one else has done in his KO of Campbell. Except for the knockdown he suffered, he was having his way with Campbell until the sudden end. A fight between Garcia and Tank would be a barn burner for as long as it lasts. I really look forward to seeing him against the other young lions in the lightweight division. Let’s hope he stays in that division for some of those fights.
The key difference between him and canelo is canelo is built like a boxer that can absorb a lot of punishment; stocky tank like body with a huge skull. you see canelo get hit with big shots from ggg or jacobs & he doesn’t even flinch. Ryan Garcia has the unfortunate opposite combination of a long neck with a peanut skull, he has to use head movement or he’d get knocked out cold in every fight. he’s going to sleep against Davis.
You really dont know shit man he’s going to put the bodybuilded dwarf with no neck to sleep in less time than he took for Campbell lol
Short thick neck = granite chin. Not saying tank is George chuvalo but it definitely helps.
Law – Agree, Canelo has tremendous durability, in a bar fight you would want him on your side.
Agree with you like 95% on this one but don’t forget how old Ryan is (22) he will improve in his defense like Canelo did. Canelo in his young age like when he took that one sided beating out of the hands of Mayweather wasn’t moving his head very well and was walking straight into Floyd’s punches ! Ryan is lightning fast, very athtletic and gifted in general and i favor him over Tank no doubt about that because before the knockout blow Tank was struggling with a bantamweight in Santa Cruz.
Interesting to see Garcia go a few rounds. He did the job. He does move straight back though…alot. Might become an issue. He was fortunate his awkward fall didn’t screw up his shoulder/arm.
If he fights Davis or Lopez like he fought Luke tonight then Garcia is going Nite Nite for real
What did i say fucking haters ?! The kid is gonna smash Davis net i hope ! A lots of you are just too young to really understand the sport you talk about.. Garcia is pretty ? Yes ; Garcia is fast ? Yes ; Garcia has one of the greatest left hook in boxing ? Yes and he can take a punch and you can just hate. In my last post i was explaining that he is the Oscar 2.0 and guess what i was right !
Dude because we have a DIFFERENT opinion of who might win in a fight with him and tank dont make us a hater or less knowledgeable then you !!!! If you are such an expert what the HELL YOU WASTING YOUR SKILLS HERE ????
Jimmy: i wldnt sweat Regis if i were you. Regis is really Garcias mom and she gets really hurt when u talk about her son cuz only “Regis” opinions count lmao
Where are Cubaninovitch, Whetto and Boxing Historian the big mouths who were talking shit in one preview post ? His overhyped chin ? He wasn’t a gold medalist ? He was wearing a diapper on his mouth ?! And i have other things to do because i could found plenty of assholes like that who are just talking shit about fighters.. And don’t reply at me about Ryan because i’m not even a fan but i knew his skills and admit it that’s all.. Probably my 30 + years in the boxing game !!
Tank slumps this kid point blank PERIOD!!!!!!!
Whoever comes out on top, the lightweight division is great right now.
Well like they say don’t put the horse in front of the apple cart, Garcia coming out on a throne, like a king before he proved himself was really putting the pressure on. When he went down, I’m thinking, oh boy, he was a hype job, but he showed some heart like a champion. He needs Canelo to teach him some head movement then, he will be a monster too.
It’s time to beat up the Takeover
Why are you talking about Haney all the time. Who has he met? Which quality fighter tested him?
Thanks for reading my story! Love all the debate, that’s what makes the sweet science so sweet!
Campbell should retire after a performance like that.
Still have to fight world champions after world champions to be even considered P4P, Only Canelo does that and with ease!
Garcia made many rookie mistakes. Why on earth would you extend both arms out to block a shot? He’s vulnerable to faints and fakes. And he leaves him self open when he has his man hurt. Unlike Campbell, he went for the kill but he’s open.
That Alvarado vs Kriel fight was pretty good. If that dude had more power.. he would be a problem. He had the game plan he had the skills.. just locked the power to be effective. Still needs to work of defense though.. there are fighters who score points but manage to make it to the 12 rounds with pure skills and not much power .. I was going for the soft puncher just because he had heart lol
Another great fight at 135. saw Lightweight div develop to most stacked weight class talentwise or one of the top classes. This is what we wanted. Putting aside each fighter’s personality I like the drama created from King-Ry getting dropped. There is the adage of how greats are great “because they lose”, or because they get up from being knocked down. There is SOME truth sometimes, but it’s not a universal truth. Some great fighters get destroyed because the guy that knocked them down are relentless finishers/KO artists. So this time around- luck of the draw. Could be Ryan learns, and never gets knocked down again. Or could be 30 fights into his career he gets knocked down 3-4 times. And/or has 2-4 losses. We don’t know and we will see. That’s why it’s such a great 135 era. No shame in being the 3rd/4th or 5th best fighter in a division of Greats or future greats: TEO, TANK, LOMA, HANEY, GARCIA, LINARES. Maybe COMMEY, FORTUNA, NAKATANI, won’t be labeled GREAT in the end but they are pretty good to round out a Top 10. same with SELBY. We will see if Kambosos Jr is something or not if he comes over to fight top 10. CAMPBELL can still compete with those #6-10 contenders so this is a packed division of young fighters. Campbell may be “older” but he is still fresh in terms of number of pro fights.
Was not a fan of the “THRONE” entrance but I get it due to his moniker. It just doesn’t sit well to have that level of cockiness when you mention that Ry is just top 5. Can’t act like the King prematurely when you haven’t beat the other 2-4 guys that are titleholder level. He hasn’t even beat one yet.
But I give him credit for this battle. It’s a good notch to have. If Haney and Teo get better and better they will box circles around Ry. And he will have to depend on a lucky power shot or liver shot to catch a win. You can do that once in a while. But not every fight.