Ryan Garcia vs. Luke Campbell possible for Nov.14 in California

By Boxing News - 09/13/2020 - Comments

By Dan Ambrose: Luke Campbell and Ryan Garcia have a possible date of November 14th in California for their clash for the interim WBC lightweight title. Campbell (20-3, 16 KOs) will be making the journey to fight in the young 22-year-old ‘King’ Ryan’s home state.

It’s still not official for Nov.14, but it should be confirmed soon by Campbell’s promoters at Matchroom.

The two-time Campbell isn’t bothered about fighting potentially behind closed doors against Garcia (20-0, 17 KOs), as he won’t have to worry about the crowd. It’s just going to be those two and a small number of people watching the fight at the venue.

Luke ready for Garcia in November

Campbell told Sky Sports that he’s going to “break him down” when they fight in the fall. He plans on pressuring Ryan, and slow and methodically wearing him down in the same way Carlos Morales did in 2018.

Morales wasn’t given the victory, but he fought well enough to deserve a decision in the view of many people.

Image: Ryan Garcia vs. Luke Campbell possible for Nov.14 in California

Garcia won the fight by a 10 round majority decision, but it was easily the worst performance of his career. Incidentally, Morales is the best guy that Ryan has fought since turning pro in

Morales created a great pro in 2016, so it’s telling that he had problems against him, as he’s someone that he should have beaten with ease. If Ryan is the real deal, he needed to make easy work of Morales the way that Jorge Linares did recently.

It would be a massive plus for Campbell’s career if he were to beat Ryan, as it could lead to a fight against the winner of next month’s Vasily Lomachenko vs. Teofimo Lopez fight. That’s who Campbell, 32, wants to face.

But if he doesn’t get the Lomachenko-Lopez winner, he’s assured a title shot against WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney or whoever holds the title by the time he’s ready to challenge for the strap.

“Hopefully we’ve got a date in November,” Campbell said to Sky Sports News. “We’re looking around the 14th, so hopefully we can move on that date soon.

“He’s the up and coming guy, but I’m excited by this opportunity to show the world what I’m really capable of doing. I see me just breaking him down and stopping him.”

Nothing standing in the way

Nothing is stopping the Campbell vs. Garcia fight from taking place in 2020, as it’s a match that isn’t dependent on a large crowd for it to take place.

A win for Campbell will be a significant blow for Golden Boy Promotions, considering they’re hoping to develop Garcia into a major superstar as they did with Canelo Alvarez. If Golden Boy matched Campbell the way they’ve done with Canelo, he could very well become a superstar in the next five years.

Image: Ryan Garcia vs. Luke Campbell possible for Nov.14 in California

They’ve done a superb job of matching Canelo carefully, picking guys that we’re older, and then fighting them in Las Vegas where he’s gotten lucky repeatedly with the scoring of his fights.

Ryan doesn’t fight in Vegas, though, and it’ll be interesting to see if he wins a lot of close, controversial decisions in California the way Canelo has been doing in Nevada.

But in some ways, Ryan could surpass Canelo, as he speaks English, he smiles, jokes and he doesn’t have a lot of fans going against him. One gets the sense that a lot of boxing fans watch Canelo’s fans hoping he’ll lose.

Still, you don’t get that with Ryan. He’s got a lot of fans, especially on social media, which numbers over six million. If Garcia wins a world title, his followers on social media could double.

“My opposition has been levels above what he’s had to face so far,” said Campbell.

“At the moment, there are no fans, but I guess you never know. The location will be in California.”

Ryan Garcia lacks experience

Campbell has fought a couple of guys that have been far better than the opposition that Ryan has fought during his short career. Specifically, Luke has fought Jorge Linares and Lomachenko, and he held his own in both of those fights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POqOo3l-Dzk

Campbell fought well enough to deserve a decision against Linares in 2017 when he lost to him by a 12 round split decision In Inglewood, California.

That was an exciting fight to watch, as both guys were trading shots throughout the 12 round contest. In the end, Linares impressed the judges with the way he turned up the heat in the championship rounds [9 to 12] and left Campbell in the dust.

The hand speed and combination punching that Linares had made it difficult for Campbell to match-up with him when he turned it up a notch in the last four rounds of the bout.

 

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Mike Tyson knows me 🥊 I’m feeling strong

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The best fighters on King Ryan’s resume

  • Carlos Morales
  • Francisco Fonseca
  • Romero Duno
  • Jayson Velez

Campbell’s fights against Lomachenko and Linares greatly overshadow the four best wins on Garcia’s resume. It’s not just that Campbell fought those guys. He was competitive with them for the entire contest, and it was, in no way, a blow out pair of defeats.