By Aragon Garcia: Oscar De La Hoya is ready to put unbeaten Ryan Garcia into a world title fight in 2020 against the likes of WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis.
The plan is for Garcia (19-0, 16 KOs) to face Francisco Fonseca (25-2-2, 19 KOs) on February 14, and if he looks good in that fight, then match him against Jorge Linares next.
The former 3 division world champion Linares (46-5, 28 KOs) is fighting on the Garcia vs. Fonseca undercard against Carlos Morales (19-4-4, 8 KOs) on February 14. If Ryan and Linares both come out of their fights with victories and look good, then the two will be fighting next.
It goes without saying, Garcia will need to beat the former three division world champion Linares, and look good in doing to for him to move forward for a world title shot. Garcia is still only 21-years-old, so it won’t be unreasonable if De La Hoya pumps the brakes on his career if he struggles against Fonseca or Linares.
Garcia vs. Fonseca is taking place on February 14 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The fight will be shown on DAZN. As De La Hoya says, this will be Ryan Garcia’s coming out party. He’ll be looking to shine, and impress new boxing fans. Ranked #2 WBA, #4 WBC, #6 WBO, Garcia ready for a world title shot in 2020
Ryan Garcia will be world champion longer than Gervonta Davis
“Just continue what you’re doing, and continue to work hard,” said De La Hoya to Fighthype on the advice that he gives Ryan Garcia. “Criticism is part of the nature, part of the game. When you’re the best at what you do, it’s criticism, but use it as fuel.
“Train harder, spar harder, eat better, and I think that’s going to give him motivation. Just brush it off,” said De La Hoya on Ryan Garcia.”The way that I see it as the tortoise and the hare. He’s already a champion,” said De La Hoya on Gervonta Davis. “But believe me when I tell you, he’ll be world champion for longer, and he’ll have a longer career.
“Longevity is key in this game. If you want to be great, and you want to win multiple world titles, and jump up multiple weight classes,” said De La Hoya on Ryan Garcia.
“I think Ryan Garcia is destined to be a great fighter, and that’s what we’re trying to push for. We’re promoting him in a way, obviously depending on his fights, we’re promoting him in a way where it’s by design. I think Ryan Garcia is going to be a world champion for many years,” said De La Hoya.
It’s almost a given that Ryan will have a longer world title reign than Gervonta Davis. The reason for that is the lack of off season dedication for Tank Davis. He’s been letting himself go in between fights, and putting on a lot of excess weight.
The 25-year-old Davis basically ate himself out of the super featherweight division after just 4 years, and now he’s doing the same thing at lightweight. He failed to make weight on his first attempt for his fight with Yuriorkis Gamboa on December 28.
De La Hoya to match Ryan Garcia against Jorge Linares soon
“We made him one of the richest young prospects in boxing today,” said De La Hoya on the 21-year-old Garcia. “Why wouldn’t you be happy? It happens in boxing. You have differences with fighters and promoters. It happens in this game, but we were able to sit down, and we were able to work things out,” said De La Hoya. ”
“The plan is to fight [Jorge] Linares, but he’s got a tough guy in front of him on the 14th of February,” De La Hoya said about Ryan’s fight with Fonseca. “Linares has no walk in the park [against Carlos Morales]. It’s a great card, and a great night of boxing, and we’ll see what happens after that,” said De La Hoya.
Ryan vs. Linares would be a good fight if it happens in 2020, but it needs to happen this year. Linares, 34, is getting older, and he’s lost a little bit from his game since the height of his career from 2015 to 2017. He’s recently been knocked out by Vasiliy Lomachenko and Pablo Cesar Cano.
Linares might not beat Carlos Morales on February 14. It’s unclear whether De La Hoya has thought that possibility over too much when figuring out his plans for Ryan, but he needs to. Morales 30, is a live dog in the fight with Linares.
Ryan Garcia could face Tank Davis in 2020 – De La Hoya
“It depends on how he looks, and how he feels,” said De La Hoya to AB Boxing News about whether Ryan Garcia will fight Linares later this year. “But Linares is fighting on this [February 14th] card as well. Those fights aren’t a walk in the park for either guy, but it depends on how he [Ryan] looks, and how he feels.
“We strongly feel that a Ryan Garcia-Linares fight can take place in the near future, but it all depends on February 14th,” said De La Hoya. “I believe he’s ready for a world title,” said De La Hoya. “I think I’m going to have Ryan at a fast pace this year. This will be his coming out party this year, and I think Ryan is ready for a world title, and sooner or later, he’ll be ready for anybody.
“Absolutely, why not? It’s a fight that he can win,” said De La Hoya on Ryan Garcia vs. Gervonta Davis. Ryan has all the talent in the world. He’s a long fighter. Tank, for some reason, went 10, 11 rounds with Yuriorkis Gamboa. So, I think Tank got exposed a little in that fight maybe, or he showed some vulnerability finally, because we thought he was untouchable and indestructible.
“So in boxing, he [Tank Davis] showed that he’s human,” said De La Hoya. “We’re all human, but I’m sure when Ryan and Tank fight, they’re going to be in the best shape of their lives. Then we’ll see who is the best,” said De La Hoya
Ryan Garcia vs. Tank Davis is a fight that a lot of boxing fans would love to see in 2020, but it’s not likely to happen this year.