By Dan Ambrose: Ryan Garcia wants his promoter Oscar De La Hoya to release him from his contract with Golden Boy Promotions if he doesn’t have faith in him. De La Hoya was interviewed on Monday, and he said he plans on having an emergency meeting to work out the issues that the young 20-year-old Garcia (18-0, 15 KOs) has.
Garcia has amplified his disputes with Golden Boy and De La Hoya by posting on social media about it. With Ryan’s constant Tweets about things that should be talked about in private, it’s a bad look for Golden Boy. Moreover, superstar Saul Canelo Alvarez has been supportive of Garcia in re-tweeting some of his posts. Ryan is trained by Eddy Reynoso, the same trainer that trains Canelo.
Oscar says Ryan Garcia NOT Golden Boy’s best young fighter
De La Hoya points out that #5 WBA, #6 WBO, #11 WBC Ryan Garcia isn’t a world champion yet, and he’s not Golden Boy’s best young talent in their stable of fighters. De La Hoya says unbeaten 21-year-old Vergil Ortiz Jr. (14-0, 14 KOs) is Golden Boy’s best young prospect. Few boxing fans would disagree with De La Hoya about that opinion of his, as Ortiz Jr. is an amazing talent. Ortiz Jr. has been steamrolling over his opponents since turning pro three years ago in 2016. He could be Golden Boy’s next huge star.
Undefeated lightweight contender Garcia (18-0, 15 KOs) is unhappy with Golden Boy failing to set him up with a fight against Romero Duno last Saturday night when his originally scheduled opponent Avery Sparrow was arrested, and couldn’t fight him. Ryan reportedly wanted an increase in pay to fight Duno (21-1, 16 KOs), and he wasn’t happy about Golden Boy saying that someone from his training team saying Runo was “too tough.”
Ryan Garcia tells De La Hoya to release him from contract if he doesn’t believe in him
Oscar if you don’t believe in my talents then you can release me elsewhere. Point blank period! If you do then come talk to me. Please no more press and public bashing.
— Ryan Garcia (@KingRyanG) September 17, 2019
Golden Boy Promotions are unlikely to release Ryan Garcia from his contract, as he’s got a huge following on social media with his 3.4 million followers. De La Hoya notes that Garcia still hasn’t proven himself to be as good inside the boxing ring as he is on social media. Garcia isn’t someone that can be matched against the likes of Devin Haney right now or Luke Campbell. Those guys would likely beat him. He’s arguably trailing Haney. It would be risky for Golden Boy to put him in with Duno, who is a very tough fringe contender level fighter. That’s considered a 50-50 fight in the eyes of a lot of boxing fans.
Garcia fighting Duno last Saturday would have been a bad deal for Golden Boy
Ryan wanted to fight Duno on one day’s notice. It’s a good thing Golden Boy didn’t make that fight, because it could have ended badly for Garcia. He might have won, but there’s a good chance that he would have lost. The match-up didn’t make sense. They’re trying to develop both Duno and Garcia. Why would they throw them in with each other on one day’s notice without building the fight by promoting it over the course of many months? It would have been a waste for Golden Boy.
Ryan is popular for the way he looks, and he’s built up a tremendous following on social media. Nevertheless, he hasn’t beaten anyone good enough to suggest he’s capable of winning a world title. Garcia isn’t on the same level as 20-year-old Devin Haney, who recently won the interim WBC lightweight title last Friday in stopping Zaur Abdulaev. Ryan’s punching power is lacking, and he’s more of a finesse level fighter in a division stocked with talented guys that have more to offer.
“Is he my best young fighter? No. Maybe next to Vergil Ortiz,” said De La Hoya to the LA Times about Ryan Garcia. “Vergil Ortiz is the real deal. Ryan is in a very unique situation because of his social media following. The fact that he has so many followers is great, but it hasn’t transcended over to boxing. It just hasn’t. That’s the bottom line. So how do we do that? He has to win a world title. And who knows how to get him there? I do,” said Oscar.
If Golden Boy does release Garcia, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn will likely snatch him up immediately to sign him. The British promoter Hearn has become the equivalent of a huge vacuum in attracting a lot of the best talents in boxing in the last couple of years.
Ryan Garcia: I want to show the world I can be a champion
“I don’t even want to speak about this stuff anymore but Oscar call me for real and stop going to the press!” continued Ryan Garcia on Twitter. “We haven’t talked at all. I want the best fights, and I’m 21 I have the drive to be even better, and I will continue to get better and fight the best fighters. And I want everyone to know that I didn’t just start fighting I’ve been fighting since I was seven years old! I was a 15 national champ and made the USA team at 17.
“And I wanted to go to the Olympics but my family needed my help, and I decided to go pro. I went to Mexico to fight bc…Like a fighter, but I always proved them wrong, and I will continue to do so, I’m grateful for my fans and I will always fight in every aspect. Coach Eddy Reynoso believes in me he’s seen with his own eyes. I’m getting better and I want to show the world, I’m capable to be champ,” said Ryan Garcia.