By Dan Ambrose: Promoter Leonard Ellerbe says Ryan Garcia will NOT be fighting Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz next despite his claims that negotiations have begun between his management team and the highly ranked Mexican slugger.
On Wednesday, Mayweather Promotions CEO Ellerbe said that Ryan Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) wouldn’t be allowed to fight Pitbull Cruz (22-2-1, 15 KOs) by his promoters at Golden Boy.
Cruz, 23, just gave Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis all he could handle recently on December 5th, coming close to beating him. Ultimately, Tank outboxed Cruz to win a 12 round unanimous decision by 115-113, 115-113, and 116-112.
Isaac Cruz is a far more advanced fighter than Ryan Garcia, and he’s tougher. The shots that Pitbull Cruz was hit with by Tank Davis in their fight likely would have knocked Ryan out cold.
Ryan Garcia needs a tune-up fight
“Honestly, he’s [Ryan Garcia] been off for a min, and he def needs a tune-up type fight, but trust me, that’s not it; besides, I want Tank to be the first one to clip him after he gets his little tune-up,” said Leonard Ellerbe.
Ellerbe says he knows Golden Boy brass in charge of operations, and he says they’re not going to let Ryan take on Isaac Cruz after a year out of the ring.
It’s unclear who Golden Boy will choose for Ryan Garcia’s little tune-up, but it might be wise for them to choose someone from the 130-lb weight class rather than at 135.
We don’t know how Ryan’s chin will hold up once he starts getting nailed by big shots from a lightweight.
Ryan, 23, hasn’t fought since last January when he defeated Luke Campbell by a seventh round knockout. King Ry didn’t look good in that fight despite stopping Campbell.
If Ryan were to fight Isaac Cruz, he would get hit a lot, and he might not hold up for long without hitting the deck. Golden Boy Promotions are trying to turn Ryan into a star, but obviously, you can see what they’re up against.
Ellerbe says Ryan won’t fight Pitbull Cruz
With King Ryan talking up fights left and right, and then pulling out of them for this or that, Golden Boy has got their work cut out for them. It doesn’t help Golden Boy if they let the young 23-year-0ld Ryan call the shots to pick his opponents and then get blasted out.
Let’s see how many of these “top guys” are going to fight him,” said Ellerbe. “Garcia said he wants to fight him; I know Eric/Diaz very well they are great matchmakers, trust me they ain’t allowing that s*** happen,” said Ellerbe about Golden Boy not letting Ryan Garcia fight Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz next.
It would be a massive vote of confidence by Golden Boy if they allowed Ryan Garcia to fight Cruz next, but like Ellerbe says, “They ain’t allowing that to happen.”