By Dan Ambrose: Ryan Garcia has made it official that his next fight against former three-division world champion Jorge Linares is set for July 11 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The fight will be shown on DAZN.
This is the big step up for the 21-year-old Garcia (20-0, 17 KOs) that he’s hoping will lead to him becoming a world champion in 2020. #9 WBC Linares (47-5, 29 KOs) is being used as a springboard for big fights against Luke Campbell for the WBC 135-lb title potentially, and then Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.
“Jorge Linares is my next fight on July 11 at the Staples Center,” said Ryan Garcia on social media in announcing his next fight. “Share it with your friends. Support me on my journey and quest to shock the world.”
Linares looked impressive recently in defeating former Ryan Garcia opponent Carlos Morales in a 4th round knockout. The way that Linares, 34, dispatched Morales, a fighter that arguably beat Ryan in 2018, we could see him pull off a minor upset when he faces the young Golden Boy prospect.
Linares looked a lot more polished beating Morales than Ryan did in beating the same guy by a controversial 10 round decision two years ago.
Ryan might not get to a fight against either of those two fighters if he fails to pass the test against Linares. We just saw Deontay Wilder get exposed last Saturday night when he stepped up against Tyson Fury. Now it could be young Ryan’s turn.
Ryan has knocked out his last three opponents early, and that’s gotten a lot of boxing fans excited about his future. His recent 1st round knockout wins over Francisco Fonseca and Romero Duno has Golden Boy Promotions and many boxing fans believing that he’s destined for stardom. However, Duno and Fonseca are limited guys, who Linares would likely destroy within 4 rounds.
Linares isn’t the type to go all out looking for a 1st round knockout the way Ryan does, but he could probably do that.
Fighting Ryan will be giving Linares not only a nice payday, but also the opportunity to put himself in position for a bigger fight if he beats him. Linares’ recent losses to Pablo Cesar Cano and Vasiliy Lomachenko hurt his career. Jorge wants a rematch with Lomachenko, and that could be a possibility in the future if he beats Ryan.
Linares will be the B-side in the fight against Garcia, but he likely won’t have to worry about losing a controversial decision. One of those two will almost surely be knocked out. Ryan is easy to hit, as he stands straight up like a stork when he fights.
As for Linares, he’s had a chin problem since 2012, and he could get starched early if he can’t get out of the way of Ryan’s left hook. That punch is pretty much the only weapon in Ryan’s arsenal. He throws it all the time, and he’s very predictable and one-dimensional.
