By Craig Daley: Oscar De La Hoya has big plans for Ryan Garcia, saying he wants to match him against Teofimo Lopez or Devin Haney on February 10th at the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas, provided he wins his fight against Oscar Duarte on December 2nd.
Some would argue that Ryan wouldn’t deserve a title shot against WBO140-lb champion Teofimo or Haney after his December 2 bounce-back fight against lightweight fringe contender Oscar Duarte.
For Ryan to earn a title shot in the traditional sense, he should face a 140-lb contender, not a guy from the 135-lb division weight class.
It’s a mistake for De La Hoya to talk up fights for the 25-year-old Ryan, considering he’s facing a big puncher in Duarte (26-1-1, 21 KOs), who will be looking to destroy what’s left of his career.
Big plans for Ryan Garcia
“So imagine Super Bowl weekend, the Super Bowl of boxing. Ryan Garcia-Teofimo Lopez, or even Devin Haney. Then, on the undercard, you have Shakur [Stevenson vs. William Zepeda. And then, to top it all off, you have Jaime Munguia vs. Derevyanchenko or Berlanga,” said Oscar De La Hoya to the Fighthype YouTube site.
Top Rank Promoter Bob Arum hasn’t said whether he’s for or against the idea of Ryan Garcia challenging Teofimo for his WBO140-lb belt. It’s a fight that Teofimo easily wins on paper, as his talent is on another level than Ryan’s, and this could be a huge mismatch.
Ryan’s reputation is in the mud with how he took a knee and was counted out in his seventh round knockout loss to Gervonta Davis in their mega-fight last April.
Boxing fans think Ryan quit in that fight after getting hit with a body shot from Tank Davis, and they note that he immediately sprung to his feet after the referee reached the ten count, then casually walked to his corner like he was taking a Saturday morning stroll in the park.
De La Hoya feels that by staging Ryan Garcia’s fight during Super Bowl weekend against Teofimo or Haney at the new MSG Sphere in Vegas, there will be a tremendous amount of interest in the fight.
It remains to be seen whether Ryan (23-1, 19 KOs) will fight Teofimo or Haney on February 10th because those won’t be easy fights to set up, and the management for them could have other ideas for what they want them to face next.
On the undercard, De La Hoya says he’d like these fights:
- Shakur Stevenson vs. William Zepeda
- Jaime Munguia vs. Sergiy Derevyanchenko [rematch] or Edgar Berlanga
People who do not know boxing are just plain stupid. How can you knock on Ryan when he s fighting a KO artist in Oscar Duarte. When you get knocked out you choose an easy fight next, Ryan is taking big risk.
— Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) October 3, 2023