By Jeff Aronow: Ryan Garcia finally made an announcement on what boxing fans already know about his dream fight against Manny Pacquiao not happening.
Garcia, 22, hasn’t given up on the idea of facing the former eight-division world champion, but for now, the bout isn’t in the cards.
The Golden Boy fighter King Ryan (21-0, 18 KOs) revealed on social media that the clash against the 42-year-old Pacquiao isn’t happening now, and he’s going in a different direction.
Pacquiao had already been criticized by many boxing fans for considering a fight against Ryan, as it’s one that doesn’t make sense in terms of sporting value. Ryan has done zero to prove himself worthy of a fight against the Filipino star.
The young upstart Ryan still hasn’t won a world title, and he’s mostly popular for his social media presence and the things he says during interviews rather what he’s done in the ring.
“My fight with Manny Pacquiao is not happening right now,” said Ryan Garcia on social media.
“I tried my best after getting the call to fight him but [it] didn’t happen because of some issues I didn’t expect to come up but I’m already working on the next fight.
“I will always see Manny as an inspiration and someone who is a legend and that I respect. I wish the best for him in life and boxing.”
If a fight is to happen between Ryan and Pacquiao in the future, it’s going to need to take place soon. If Pacquiao is in his mid-40s, it’ll be pointless.
More importantly, there’s a possibility that Ryan’s popularity could quickly disappear once he’s exposed when he steps up and potentially loses badly.
Right now, Ryan is facing lower-level opposition for the most part, and he’s done well against those types of fighters.
What we saw in Ryan’s step-up match against Luke Campbell on January 2nd was a sign that he’s not going to be able to beat the better fighters.
Ryan was fortunate not to get knocked out by Campbell, as he was dropped hard in the second round, and there to be knocked out if the British fighter had gone after him.
As for Ryan’s next fight, he’s already said he WON’T fight Javier Fortuna, as he views that as a step backward with his career. Fortuna is ranked #2 with the WBC.
If Ryan is going to go by rankings of fighters, he’s going to have to choose Vasily Lomachenko, who is ranked #1 with the WBC.
Ryan will look silly if he tells the fans that Lomachenko is a step back for him, as he would be a big underdog against the former three-division world champion. Obviously, Ryan will likely say Lomachenko would be an easy knockout win for him, and the fans would view him as deluded.
Unless Ryan changes his mind about not wanting to face Fortuna, these are some potential options for him:
- Jorge Linares
- Richard Commey
- Masayoshi Nakatani
- Rolando Romero
- Lee Selby
- James Tennyson
- Vasily Lomachenko
There’s a high chance that Ryan Garcia would lose to half of that list, particularly Lomachenko, Linares, and Commey. These would be hard fights for Ryan.
Tennyson’s punching power would make him incredibly dangerous for Ryan, who is there to be hit.