By Mark Eisner: Ryan Garcia showed off his fantastic hand-speed on social media on Wednesday, and he looks like he’s gotten faster with the improvements he’s made. The 21-year-old lightweight contender ‘King’ Ryan Garcia (20-0, 17 KOs) has been working on his speed during the lockdown, and it looks like it’s paid off.
He appears to be even faster than he was and is pushing the limits by showing similar hand speed that we saw from a prime Roy Jones Jr. When a fighter gets to the speed that Ryan is showing now, it makes them nearly impossible to beat. Speaking of Roy Jones, he said this week that Ryan Garcia is one of his favorite young fighters.
Look at how great Roy Jones Jr. was during the vast majority of his career. He was untouchable. The same applies to Floyd Mayweather Jr. When he was at his best, he was able to hit at will without worrying about getting nailed by his opponents.
The unbeaten lightweight King Ryan Garcia just needs to show that he can win with his hand speed against the lions at 135. He’s already shown that he can beat the fringe contenders in Romero Duno, Francisco Fonseca, and Jose Lopez. Ryan needs to be able to win against these fighters with his speed:
- Devin Haney
- Teofimo Lopez
- Vasiliy Lomachenko
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Been pushing my limits lately I think I’ve became faster? 😱 @gymshark #ultrainstinct
With Ryan Garcia’s next-level hand speed, he’s going to be capable of beating fighters that are much heavier than him. This is something he needs to keep in mind because there’s more money for him to make in fighting at 140 and 147 than for him to stay at 135 his entire career, and have no one to fight.
Moving up to 140 should be in Ryan Garcia’s immediate plans, as it would open the doors for him to take on the likes of Josh Taylor, Regis Prograis, and Jose Ramirez. There’s nothing wrong with the guys that Ryan has to fight at lightweight, but they lack the popularity that the heavier fighters possess.
Ryan could be fighting next in the summer, potentially in July. There isn’t an opponent for him yet, but that’s not the important part. Ryan needs to stay active and continue to win new boxing fans with his performances.
