By Dan Ambrose: Golden Boy Promotions has informed the WBO that Ryan Garcia won’t be taking part in their title eliminator against Emmanuel Tagoe due to him having chosen to face Luke Campbell for the WBC interim 135-lb belt.
@MikeCoppinger states that Golden Boy has let the WBO know that Ryan is going in a different direction in taking the WBC path to fight for their interim strap against Canelo.
Golden Boy Promotions likely left it up to Ryan to make the final decision in which title route he wanted to pursue. Although Campbell is the riskier of the two, it’s a fight that would do more for Ryan Garcia’s career.
Beating Campbell isn’t the end game for the 21-year-old Ryan Garcia. The winner of that fight will be mandatory for WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney. Ryan would need to beat Haney (24-0, 15 KOs) for him to become a world champ.
It’s a bold move for King Ryan (20-0, 17 KOs) to take on the highly experienced Campbell (20-3, 16 KOs), but it makes sense. Tagoe (31-1, 15 KOs) would have been just as tough as fight potentially for Garcia, but with less fanfare.
There’s a lot more to gain for Ryan Garcia to take on the 2012 Olympic gold medalist Campbell than there is the little known #1 WBO Tagoe. If Ryan loses to the famous 32-year-old Campbell, the defeat will hurt him nearly as much as it would in getting beaten by Tagoe.
Campbell vs. Garcia is a good matchup
“I think he’s going to look at his options,” said DiBella to Seconds Out about Ryan Garcia. “He can fight an eliminator with the WBC, and he can fight an eliminator with the WBO. Luke Campbell, the economics with the two fights will be somewhat different,” said DiBella about Ryan and Campbell and Emmanuel Tagoe.
“I don’t know what he’s going to do, but I tell you this, Tagoe would be very thrilled,” Dibella continued about Ryan Garcia. “And I promote him, and he’d be thrilled to fight Garcia.
“I think it’s a good fight and a solid matchup, but obviously, Ryan’s one of the biggest names in the division and the United States, mainly that’s a big fight. At this point, Tagoe has been sitting and waiting, and he wants the most significant battle available.
“So right now, I think he’s going to wind up with a big fight no matter how this plays out. So we’re going to sit back and see which direction they go in. I think Luke Campbell against Ryan is a terrific fight.
“I think Tagoe and Ryan is a good fight, and I think Campbell and Devin Haney would be a good fight. There are good matchups around that division right now.
“So we’re going to be open to what people have to say, and then if Ryan goes in another direction, Tagoe is still going to fight an eliminator in the WBO. We’ll just fight the next available guy,” said DiBella.
Promoter Lou DiBella wanted Ryan Garcia to face his fighter Tago in the WBO title eliminator, but he’s going to need to meet someone else. Tago vs. Garcia would be a perfect fight, but it’s not what Ryan is looking for.
DiBella: Ryan Garcia vs. Luke Campbell is 50-50 fight
“I probably would,” said DiBella when asked if Campbell should be the favorite over Ryan Garcia. “Do I think it’s fair? Yes. I think it’s OK, but if I were the betting man, I think I’d take the slight underdog, the younger guy.
“I’m a big fan of Luke Campbell, but I also think as a matchup, I think that’s a 50-50 kind of matchup.
“So if you’re going to give me Ryan as an underdog, I think I’d take that, particularly if the fight were in the States,” DiBella said.
DiBella’s view on the Campbell-Garcia fight is a lot different than most boxing fans. They see Campbell as the favorite, and they’re not giving Ryan much of a chance to win the fight. Campbell is an arguably more well-schooled fighter than Ryan, and he can do a lot of different things in the ring.
The young Garcia has two punches that he can knock you out with, his left hook and straight right. He mostly scores knockouts with his left hook, though. In Campbell’s situation, he can score knockouts with uppercuts, left hooks, right hooks, and right hands.
He’s got a lot of different punches in his toolbox that he can hurt his opponents with. Not much is said about Campbell’s jab, but it’s a far better weapon for him than the pawing one that Ryan Garcia throws.
Garcia wants to show the world that he’s one of the best fighters in the lightweight division. To accomplish that goal, Ran needs to beat the well-known household names like Campbell. Luke is a two-time world title challenger, having lost to champions Vasily Lomachenko and Jorge Linares.
Campbell gave both of those fighters a tough fight in losing by a pair of 12 round decisions.
Why Ryan should fight Campbell
“Luke Campbell is a proven B+ fighter while Ryan Garcia has A-potential,” said Chris Mannix to DAZN. “That’s the type of fight that I’d like to see Ryan step into in the fall.
What could potentially be big news for the rising star Ryan Garcia? The 21-year-old phenom accepted an interim fight with England’s Luke Campbell, which would put him on a path to fight Devin Haney if he wins. Ryan’s camp also has the option of fighting Emmanuel Tagoe,” said Mannix.
“When I heard Ryan Garcia was going to fight Jorge Linares, I was thrilled by that fight,” said Sergio Mora. “Then I heard he was going to fight Luke Campbell, and I was even more excited for that fight. These are names just being thrown around.
At this point in the pandemic, where we’re not going to have fans in the stands, I don’t think either of those fights work. This is a big fight with a rising superstar. Let’s give him [Ryan] a competitive battle, and that’s Emmanuel Tagoe from Ghana,” said Mora.
“I like Tagoe as a potential opponent,” said Mannix in talking about possible options for King Ryan. “Campbell is a certainly more known commodity. We saw Campbell in a classic fight against Linares, and he fought well against Lomachenko. He is more of a household name than Tagoe is.
At this point, you’re kind of looking for that if you’re Ryan Garcia. You want something that will elevate him. Campbell has lost championship-level fights to Linares, and he lost to Lomachenko. That’s the guy to me that makes the most sense. I think he’s right there on Ryan Garcia’s level,” said Mannix.
It’s a significant risk that Ryan is taking in facing Campbell, but that’s the type of matchup he wants. Ryan says he wants to shock the world. He’s not going to do that by taking the safe route by going after Tagoe instead. At the same age, Ryan is at Canelo Alvarez was already fighting for world titles in his career.
Garcia-Campbell will make more money in 2021
“Campbell may be B+ when it comes to potential, but he’s A+ when it comes to skills,” said Mora. “Campbell is a serious threat. He’s an Olympic gold medalist. Every time I watch Campbell fight, he only loses against the best.
In that fight against Mendy, he came back and won that fight, but he lost to Lomachenko and a close battle against Linares. I think that would be a big step up for Ryan Garcia, but not right now.
That fight can quickly bring 20,000 people across the pond,” Mora said of the Campbell vs. Garcia bout. “But not for his next fight. In his next fight, give me Tagoe and then Luke Campbell after that,” said Mora.
In terms of money, Ryan would be better off delaying the Campbell fight until crowds are allowed back in. Ryan and Campbell will both lose out on a lot of revenue by staging their fight behind closed doors without a live gate.
If they waited until next year, then they could fight in front of an audience and make big money.