By Robert Segal: Ryan Garcia revealed on Friday that the WBC-ordered lightweight title eliminator between him and Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz is a no-go due to his manager saying it’s not a good time to make the fight.
Pitbull Cruz’s promoter Sean Gibbons says they already had plans to fight in August, and they have the possibility of a rematch with WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis or fight with Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero if he comes out victorious in his next contender.
Gibbons is still interested in matching a fight between Pitbull Cruz and Ryan Garcia at some point in the near future, but not now.
It’s understandable why Gibbons would prefer that Pitbull Cruz face Tank Davis in a rematch rather than Ryan. Tank vs.
Cruz would likely be shown on Showtime PPV, and the money would be hard to resist.
Also, if Pitbull beats Tank, there would be a trilogy match between the on PPV. Ryan isn’t a PPV fighter yet, and it remains to be seen if he will in the future.
“If anyone wanted the full interview, this is Isaac Cruz manager [Sean Gibbons] making an excuse after excuse on why he can’t, no mention on how we can figure something out,” said Ryan Garcia on Twitter.
“I’m very frustrated. I’m trying to get this fight done, and I see this interview. There’s a way, and they simply don’t want to do it. I tried to give you guys a fight that you wanted. It’s not in my hands anymore,” said Ryan Garcia.
It’s not the end of the world for Ryan just because he’s not getting the Pitbull Cruz fight. Ryan’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya can always match him against a top contender in the WBC’s rankings.
Good options for Ryan:
- Joseph ‘Jojo’ Diaz Jr
- Javier Fortuna
- Zaur Abdullaev
- Richard Commey
- Yvan Mendy
- Jeremiah Nakathila
“The timing is a big thing because we already had Isaac scheduled to come back in August,” said Pitbull Cruz’s promoter Sean Gibbons to K.O. Artist Sports when asked about a fight between him and Ryan Garcia.
“Boxing is a little more difficult than a ratings organization [WBC] mandating something [ordering Ryan Garcia and Pitbull Cruz to fight in a WBC lightweight title eliminator]. They don’t check with either fighter.
“Ryan already had a fight scheduled for July 16th, and we’re [Pitbull Cruz] in August. When the time is right, a fight like that will happen,” said Gibbons.
