By Dan Ambrose: Oscar De La Hoya says Ryan Garcia could fight for the vacant WBA light welterweight title next because he believes the current 140-lb belt-holder Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero is injured and will be given ‘Champion in Recess’ designation.
If the World Boxing Council allows Ryan (23-1, 19 KOs) to fight for their vacant 140-lb title, he would face #1 mandatory contender Ohara Davies for the vacant belt.
Today, Davies (25-2, 18 KOs) expressed approval of a fight with the 25-year-old Ryan Garcia. That would be a big-money fight for the 31-year-old Davies, whose only two notable career wins have come against British fighters Lewis Ritson and Tyrone McKenna.
“The belts could be at stake, and given the fact that Rolly [Romero] is in Recess. I believe he got injured, but he’s a fighter in Recess. So now there are going to be some possibilities to possibly fight Ryan for a world title,” said Oscar De La Hoya to Fight Hub TV about Ryan Garcia potentially battling for the vacant WBA light welterweight belt.
Is this Ryan Garcia’s only chance of winning a title?
Ryan lost his last fight against Gervonta Davis by a seventh round knockout last April, and it’s not ideal for him to fight for a world title right away. Kingry backing into a world title shot off of a loss, it looks pathetic.
What about all the contenders in the WBA’s rankings that have been working hard for a title shot? Should Ryan be allowed to leapfrog ahead of them?
If the Ryan vs. Davies fight happens, the winner will face ‘Champion in Recess’ Rolly Romero in another nice payday fight, particularly if Kingry faces him.
The only problem with De La Hoya’s plans for Ryan fighting for the vacant WBA 140-lb title is that the sanctioning body would need to allow him to jump the line ahead of #2 Kenneth Sims and #3 Ismael Barroso.
There’s no reason why the WBA would permit Ryan to move ahead of Sims or Barroso to fight Ohara for the vacant 140-lb title.
If De La Hoya & Golden Boy want to give Sims a step aside to get him out of the way so that Ryan can face Davies, it would be possible for that fight to go ahead. But apart from that, it’s unrealistic to assume that Sims will move out of the way.
WBA’s top 4 contenders
1. Ohara Davies
2. Kenneth Sims
3. Ismael Barroso
4. Ryan Garcia
Nothing turns me on more than when you guys say some shit like this, when I win this it will make victory feel much sweeter https://t.co/AXrYUesN0J
— Ohara Davies (@OharaDavies) September 7, 2023
Rolly is a tainted champion after the way his fight against 40-year-old Ismael Barroso was stopped suddenly in the ninth round by referee Tony Weeks following a flurry of missed punches last May.
In his previous fight, Rolly had been knocked out in the sixth round by Tank Davis, which made him a poor candidate to be fighting for a world title.
If the WBA was on board with Rolly fighting for their vacant 140-lb title coming off a loss, they could be okay with Ryan doing the same. It obviously sends the wrong message to fans, but oh well.