By Kenneth Friedman: Jorge Linares (47-5, 29 KOs) says he wants to fight Ryan Garcia (20-0, 17 KOs) next, but he’s going to wait a little bit until the situation clears up with the pandemic.
Ryan’s new trainer Eddy Reynoso reportedly wants him to back off from looking to fight the talented contender. He wants Ryan Garcia, 21, to gain more experience before facing guys like Tank Davis. That could be the reason why nothing is being said by Golden Boy about Ryan facing Linares next despite that being the original plan.
Garcia has talked about wanting to fight on July 4, but Linares says that’s not going to happen.
It’s almost June, and Ryan’s promoters at Golden Boy Promotions aren’t saying anything about his July 4th date, which suggests that it’s not happening.
Linares’ coach isn’t with him in Japan right now, and he’s not able to spar because of the pandemic. Although he’s training some, it’s not like a regular training camp. Linares’ goal is to pick up a big win and then use the victory to get a rematch with Vasily Lomachenko.
Linares willing to fight Ryan without fans
“Why not?” said Linares when asked by Golden Boy if he’d be willing to fight Ryan Garcia without fans. “Maybe not for Ryan because he’s got six million followers on social media.
“So when he goes into the ring, and he can’t see so many fans, so how? For me, it’s no problem. You know I’m fighting everywhere, no matter how many people or what area or which country.
“I didn’t care about Ryan Garcia,” said Linares about him sharing the card with Ryan on February 14. “What I was thinking at the time was winning the fight, and that’s it. Then I was thinking of doing a fight with Ryan, but now we can’t do that because of the pandemic.
“He’s the champion on social media. So he tries to fight with everyone, and I don’t know why,” said Linares about the trash-talking Ryan does on Instagram and Twitter. “He tried to fight with a UFC fighter, he tried to fight with Abner Mares, with another guy and also with me.
“I tell him again if you want to fight, we got to wait for this situation. It’s impossible for him to fight on July the 4th. Who will he fight at that time? Canelo? No. I think only Ryan Garcia, but with who? So he’s not a world champion.
“I want that so much. I’m ready for that. And that’s why I’m trying to train every day because I want a big fight, and I want to fight against Ryan Garcia. I want a rematch with Lomachenko, but I need a big fight first to do that. So if he [Ryan] wants to fight with me, we need to wait a little bit,” said Linares.
Golden Boy Promotions will need to start working on setting up the Garcia vs. Linares fight inside a studio if they want it to take place soon. Top Rank and Matchroom Boxing are both working on setting up fight cards behind closed doors. Thus far, Golden Boy hasn’t made the same moves.
Linares doubts Ryan Garcia will fight on July 4
“It’s normal, it’s sport, it’s boxing,” said Linares to Fino Boxing when asked if he has a personal beef with Ryan Garcia. “I’ve known him for a long time, but he tries to make for drama or something for social media because he has a lot of followers.
“It’s not personal for me. I’m ready to fight with anyone. After this situation is over, we can do the fight. I’m still waiting for the contract from Golden Boy to do that fight. It’s impossible,” said Linares when told that Ryan Garcia plans on fighting on July 4.
“May is finished soon. June is coming soon, and July 4, who can fight on July 4. Do you know what I mean? It’s impossible. Maybe he wants to fight in the USA. Boxing is impossible because Canelo, he cannot fight in July.
“Who can fight in July, especially in the United States, because it’s a bad situation with the pandemic? So it’s difficult to make that event right now, especially in boxing.
“That’s why I tell him [Ryan]. If you want to fight with me, we’ll have to wait a little bit with this situation. When this situation is over with, we can make the fight,” said Linares.
It’s not looking good for Ryan to fight on July 4. Golden Boy isn’t talking about that date, and Ryan still doesn’t have an opponent. If Ryan does fight on July 4, it’s very likely to be against a second-tier opponent and not a contender. In other words, Ryan would be facing someone worse than his last opponent Francisco Fonseca.
Canelo Alvarez, who Reynoso also trains, fought those type of opponents exclusively from 2005 to 2010. It’s possible that Reynoso will want Ryan to follow that career path that Canelo took.
Jorge can’t train for Garcia fight now
“We can make a big fight in the United States, Japan, or anywhere.,” said Linares. “Yes, of course,” said Linares when asked if he wants to fight Ryan Garcia in 2020. “That’s why we fought on the same day [February 14] last time on Valentine’s day because we were thinking at that moment of making the fight.
“I’m ready for that. I’m ready to make for a good fight. Now we have to wait for the situation. I can train a little bit every day, but not very well. I can’t have contact with sparring because I don’t have a sparring partner.
“My younger brother Carlos, he’s not my coach, he’s not in town, he’s not in Japan right now. He’s in Venezuela. So how can I make a good training camp to prepare for Ryan Garcia on July 4th? Come on. Nobody can train right now,” said Linares.
Without a coach or sparring partners, Linares isn’t in the position to train for a fight against Ryan or any fighter. The pandemic is making it near impossible for many of the top fighters to train properly, and it’s unknown when that’ll change.
King Ryan Garcia talks about training
“I’ve got it at 90 degrees. It’s hot in here,” said Ryan Garcia in episode one on his Youtube channel. “Even the cameraman is sweating. You’re not going to learn anything from a show or movie. And you’re going to learn from your own experience.
“You’re going to have to kill me to slow me down. Last week, we talked about shocking the world. I’m going to show you how to shock the world. This ain’t no game. Boxing is life or death. One-shot to the head, you’re gone.
“I’m going to be training every day, and when I come out of this, I’m going to be looking like Goku. This is Gervonta Davis in quarantine. As you can see, he’s gained a little bit of weight, and he’s probably doing this right now [lying down].
‘What’s Ryan Garcia doing right now? I can’t sleep at night,’ so he just hugs his stomach. ‘Oh my God, the left hook. Don’t let the left hook. I can’t take it.’
“When things get back going, I’ll be one of the fighters that are ready,” said Garcia. “And for the fighters that didn’t prepare, they probably won’t end up fighting me,” said Garcia.
Ryan is working out at home in his gym, and he’s not getting sparring either. It’s not as big a deal for the 21-year-old Ryan to miss out on time compared to the 34-year-old Linares, who is up there in age. He can’t afford to sit out of the ring for a long period of time.
Ryan Garcia will miss the fans
“I think with no fans because I have so many supporters, it’ll hit me the most,” said Ryan about fighting behind closed doors. “Me, Canelo, Anthony Joshua, fighters like that, because our fans go hard. Without the love of my fans, I’ve got to have faith that they’re there watching at home with the same intensity.
“I’m going to leave it all in the ring no matter what. Sooner or later, we’ll begin to have big fights again with the audiences back on track. But for now, I’m going to fight anybody. They can put anybody in with me, and I know people are going to watch.
“I think a lot of people want to fight me, though. That’s the beauty of it. When they first see me, they’re going to be, ‘Oh, I’m going to get a fight in.’ In boxing, it’s the same thing as Youtube. They want clout. So they’re coming for me, but this is my job to train and make sure that they don’t.
“We’re both warriors, but it comes down to this. Who’s the smarter warrior? If you’re training as hard as me or we’re in the same shape, and we’ve got the same talent. What does it come down to? Who’s smarter? Who is the better chessplayer? I know I have the work ethic. So I just train my mind now. What are we here to do? Shock the world,” said Ryan Garcia.
It would be hard for Ryan to fight without fans because he’s got so many followers, and his game is built on the motivation he gets from the fans.
