By Jim Maltzman: Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez says Ryan ‘Kingry’ Garcia will be ready to take on WBA/WBC/WBO lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko if he beats Luke Campbell in the fall.
Gomez feels that if the 21-year-old Garcia (20-0, 17 KOs) defeats the two-time world title challenger Campbell (20-3, 16 KOs), then that’ll be a sign that he’s ready to face the best. Right now, it’s still too early to contemplate how Ryan will do against the two-time Olympic gold medalist Lomachenko.
Gomez is right about the 5’10” King Ryan having a big size and power advantage over the 5’7″ Lomachenko. There’s no question about it that Ryan is a lot taller, faster, and the bigger puncher than Loma.
Garcia with a big size advantage over Lomachenko
Ryan will enjoy a five-inch reach advantage to go along with his three-punch height, and 11-year advantage in youth. With all those things in Garcia’s favor, you can’t rule out a win for Ryan.
Campbell is an incredible talent, who gave Lomachenko tons of trouble in their fight August at the O2 Arena in London, England. The southpaw Campbell hung in there for the full 12 rounds, and arguably gave Lomachenko one of the toughest fights of his pro career.
Gomez is banking on Garcia using his size and punching power to defeat the British fighter Campbell, but he’s going to need to be at his best for him to pull it off. The boxing public view the 32-year-old Campbell as an overwhelming favorite due to his experience, and his skills.
Golden Boy is throwing Garcia in with the wolves early in his career, and it’s possible they want to see if he’s as good as he thinks he is. If Garcia beats Campbell with flying colors, then perhaps he is as good as he believes himself to be.
Eric Gomez: Ryan Garcia will be too strong for Lomachenko
“If he gets past Luke Campbell, I think he can challenge Lomachenko,” said Golden Boy president Eric Gomez to Boxing Social. “Ryan is bigger, he’s faster, he’s younger. I think Lomachenko would have a hard time with Ryan Garcia. I just feel Ryan is going to be too big and too strong for him,” said Gomez.
Ryan’s hand speed, size, and power give him a real chance to beat Lomachenko. When you have the kind of speed and power that Ryan possesses, it negates the massive talent for fighters like Lomachenko. As we’ve seen in Ryan’s last four fights, all it takes is one mistake on the part of Garcia’s opponent, and he can knock them out.
The main problem that Ryan would have against Lomachenko would be dealing with his movement and the different angles he throws his punches from. Ryan has become accustomed to facing opposition that stands directly in front of him, which enables him to get his shots off with ease.
Lomachenko won’t be stationary against Garcia, and it’ll be a lot more difficult for him to land his bread and butter punch.
Against Lomachenko, Garcia would need to take a lot more chances than normal because if he plays it safe, he’ll get picked apart.
To hear Gomez sounding so cavalier about letting Ryan face Lomachenko this early in his career, it sounds as if they might want to teach him a lesson about overreach.
King Ryan will be ready for Haney after Campbell fight
“I think that fight if everything is back to normal and we’re past the pandemic, it can happen rather quickly,” said Gomez on a fight between Ryan and Devin Haney. “I feel that Ryan is ready for that fight. That’s one of the guys that he’s mentioned that he wants to fight against.
“Look, everything depends on how he does against Luke Campbell. I mean, Luke Campbell won’t be a walk in the park. It’s going to be a really tough fight. But if he gets past Luke Campbell, he’ll have all the confidence in the world to challenge a guy like Devin Haney,” said Gomez.
In some ways, WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney is just as risky for Ryan as Lomachenko. Haney (24-0, 15 KOs) has the kind of talent that will make Ryan look bad, and he’s got enough to knock him out.
It’s doubtful that Haney would take a risk of shooting for the knockout though in view of the fact that Ryan only needs one punch to win. If Haney gets sloppy against Ryan, he’ll find himself on the canvas wondering how he got there.
Garcia vs Campbell still being negotiated
“We’re negotiating and bouncing around different ideas,” said Gomez in giving an update on the Ryan Garcia vs. Campbell fight. “We’ll look to do it [Garcia-Campbell] in October or November, something around there. We’ll see what happens, but I’m hoping to make an announcement soon.
“I expected Ryan t take the fight. That’s the kind of kid he is,” said Gomez on Ryan Garcia, agreeing immediately to face Campbell after the WBC ordered the fight. “He wants to fight everybody. If it was solely up to him, he would be fighting Lomachenko.
“He really is a tough kid, and he’s willing to fight anybody. It wasn’t a big surprise that he wanted to fight Luke Campbell, and I think he’s making the right choice. I think he’s ready for this type of fight,” said Eric.
It’s important that Ryan not bail from the negotiations with Campbell over money like he did for his July 4 fight date that Golden Boy offered him. Ryan needs to understand that the money isn’t going to be the same during the pandemic.
Without crowds, the gate money isn’t there to pay Ryan large paydays he’d been getting to face B-level opposition.
Campbell is a make or breaks fight for Ryan. If he’s really the fighter that Golden Boy thought he was, he’ll destroy Luke and make it look easy. It’s early in Garcia’s career for him to be taking on a dangerous fighter like Campbell, and he and Golden Boy both could regret it.
It’s not just Ryan that stands to lose big if he gets blown out by Campbell. Golden Boy will lose out as well, seeing that the boxing public won’t be as interested in Ryan’s fights. But on the other hand, if Ryan beats Campbell impressively, then it’s great for Golden Boy.
Ryan improving with trainer Reynoso’s help
“It’s great for him, it’s very, very good,” said Gomez on Ryan working with trainer Eddy Reynoso to help him develop. “Eddy Reynoso is one of the top trainers in the world. Not just now and recently when he won the award, the Ring Magazine for the top trainer of the year, but for the last few years.
“He’s one of the top trainers in the world. The experience Eddy has, it’s only going to make Ryan better and enhance him. So I think it’s a good combination to have them both together. You’ve seen the difference in Ryan.
He’s a little more assertive, he’s using his jab better and he’s a little more settled in the ring. That’s what I see, and I think it’s the skies’ the limit for him. I think he had a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, criticized by many, and he didn’t like that.
“He had something to prove and he did what he had to do,” said Gomez on Ryan’s recent knockout of Francisco Fonseca. “I think Eddy Reynoso gives him a lot of confidence. He’s a great motivator, Eddy Reynoso. So he’s motivating him as well as teaching him. So it’s the right fit.
“I think it’s [135] the hottest division right now. There are some really good fighters at 130 and 135. There’s a nice little round robin that can happen with all those fighters. So I think it’s a very good division, and in a year or two, it’s going to be the hottest division,” Gomez said.
Just how much of an effect that trainer Eddy Reynoso has had on Ryan Garcia’s game is unknown. If anything, being around Reynoso has only helped Garcia’s already sky-high self-confidence.