By Charles Brun: Eddie Hearn says he’d like to talk with Ryan Garcia if he’s a promotional free agent. There are rumors that Ryan’s promotional contract with Golden Boy Promotions ended with his fight with Gervonta Davis on April 22nd.
If the 24-year-old light welterweight contender Ryan (23-1, 19 KOs) is a free agent, Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing promotion would be a potential destination for the popular fighter, who has over 10 million followers on Instagram.
One problem that Hearn would have is who he would match Ryan Garcia with. Hearn has no name fighters at 135 or 140 to put Ryan in with to take advantage of signing him.
It won’t work if Hearn puts Ryan in with the likes of Montana Love or Maxi Hughes, as those fights won’t sell. Those are Hearn’s only fighters in those weight classes.
If Ryan chooses to re-sign with Golden Boy Promotions, his best option would be ink with Top Rank, as they’re well-represented at 140, with Teofimo Lopez, Josh Taylor, and Arnold Barboza.
“Of course,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV when asked if he’d like to speak with Ryan Garcia if he’s a promotional free agent. “People are telling me Ryan Garcia is a free agent. If he is, I’d love to talk with him.
“I’m not going to lie about my opinion of what happened in the [Gervonta Davis] fight just so I can speak with Ryan Garcia and sign him. As I said, if he’s injured in that fight, I think he did the right thing, but he still made a decision not to carry on.
“That’s a question for Golden Boy if he’s a free agent. That’s the word, but we’ve not had any conversations.
“The reality is this. He [Ryan] did not want to continue. The meaning of ‘quit’ has many meanings, but one of them is not wanting to continue. Physically, he may have had a busted rib. I’ve said this before. I would have done exactly the same thing as Ryan Garcia.
“In fact, I would have done it a few rounds before. I would have just laid on the ground. ‘Oh, I’m all over [the place].’ I would have gotten up and given it the old skanky leg. He [Ryan] went on his knee in round six or seven and looked at the ref’s eyes, and the ref said, ‘Eight, nine, ten, you’re out.’
“He got straight up and walked to his corner. Could he have got up? 100%. Should he have got up? In a sensible world, absolutely not. He probably had a busted rib. What did Canelo Alvarez say yesterday? ‘As fighters, we must get up.’
“Fighters are not you and me. Would I have got up? F***ing no chance, but I would have done a better job by rolling around the floor from the body shot,” said Hearn.
