Oscar Duarte is getting an opportunity of a lifetime this Saturday against light welterweight contender Ryan Garcia in the twelve round main event on DAZN.
Duarte (26-1-1, 21 KOs) knows that he can change his life with a victory over the Golden Boy star Ryan Garcia (23-1, 19 KOs) in their bout at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
Ryan, 25, isn’t too worried about Duarte, viewing him as a “tune-up” and comparing his fighting style to the heavy-handed Romero Duno, who he knocked out in the first round in November 2019.
For Ryan’s sake, he’d better hope that Duarte is another Duno because if this guy is on another than him, he could score a knockout and mess things up for Kingry’s plans on getting a rematch with Gervonta Davis or facing Devin Haney vs. Regis Prograis winner.
Saturday’s undercard on DAZN
- Shane Mosley Jr vs. Joshua Conley
- Floyd Schofield vs. Ricardo Lopez Torres
- Darius Fulghum vs. Pachino Hill
- Danilo Diez vs. Jose Valenzuela Alvarado
- Sean Garcia vs. Joseph Johnson
- Gael Cabrera vs. Alejandro Dominguez
- Asa Stevens vs. Dominique Griffin
Oscar Duarte ready to upset Ryan Garcia
“Now my main focus is to be a world champion and be one of the best in the world,” said Ryan Garcia to Golden Boy Boxing, going into his confidence booster this Saturday, December 2, against lightweight Oscar Duarte on DAZN.
“This December 2nd, I’m coming with everything. I am hungry for success, and everyone will know who Oscar Duarte is,” said Duarte.
“It’s a new era, a new generation, and I feel I laid the blueprint out early in my career even when there weren’t really believers in what I was doing, and I took it to a certain level, which hasn’t been seen in a while,” said Ryan Garcia.
“I think that now, with the loss of Showtime, it’s more evident that I was correct, and now it’s trying to help everybody. Trying to be there to try and teach them to help them promote themselves to the young fighters coming up,” Kingry said.
Ryan has the experience advantage
“One thing is for sure: I’ve handled the biggest stage in the past five years,” said Ryan. “If I walk into an arena like that [Toyota Arena in Houston, Texas], I have the advantage.
“He’s [Duarte] never had to deal with so many people watching him and expecting him to do good. So, he’s walking into something he’s never walked into before. So, we’re going to see how he handles that pressure and those lights turn out; we’ll see how he reacts,” said Ryan about his little-known opponent, Duarte.
Ryan Garcia’s advantages:
- Speed
- Power
- Better resume
- Crowd support
What Ryan has going against him in this fight is his weak chin and the way that he quit in his recent fight against Tank Davis after getting hit with a body shot.
When a fighter goes out like that, the chances are that he’ll do it again, especially when they’re wealthy like Ryan. His net worth is $20 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, and it could be double that after his recent $20M purse for his fight with Gervonta Davis.
“I was originally born in Parral, Chihuahua. I live here in La Laguna, where I was very welcomed,” said the 27-year-old Duarte. “I am a person that started from the bottom. Fortunately, I come from a very good family.
“Right now, my confidence is very high because since I had that loss, I feel that it was more than just a loss on my record,” said Duarte about his defeat at the hands of journeyman Adrian Estrella in 2019.
It’s good that Duarte’s self-confidence is high for this fight because he’s going to need it. Losing to Estrella looks really bad on his part, as this is a guy that was destroyed by Subriel Matias by a fourth round stoppage and Shohjahon Ergashev in a first round knckout.
“It was a great lecture for me to open my eyes to see what I was missing,” said Duarte. “I think his team made a mistake. I see this fight as an opportunity of a lifetime, as if it were a world title fight because I know what Ryan symbolizes. He is a great fighter, I have nothing but respect for him.
“Outside of the ring, he has done a great job of marketing himself. He has talent. I know nothing has come easy for him, but this is my chance to shine,” Duarte said about Ryan Garcia.
A win for Duarte will obviously lead to a well-paying rematch with Ryan, and it could end up on DAZN PPV. You can imagine the interest that the boxing public would have in seeing a second fight between Ryan & Duarte if Kingry is coming off a knockout loss. With Ryan’s career on the line after consecutive KO defeats, fans would flock to see it on PPV.
Duarte with 11-fight winning streak
“He’s a guy on a winning streak. He’s won eleven fights in a row. You can’t overlook a guy like that,” said Ryan Garcia about Duarte. “So, for me, I’m taking him as serious as can be. Picking somebody is kind of like a warm-up fight. I wouldn’t say this is a warm-up fight. This is a pretty tough fight.”
Duarte’s 11-fight winning streak since his loss to journeyman Adrian Estrella has come against soft opposition, so it’s impossible to know if he’s improved since that defeat.
We know Duarte can punch, and he’s going up against a fighter with a weak resume as well, and a chin problem. Ryan is completely untested, and he might fall apart again if Duarte lands to the body or head.
Tank Davis looked like he was in first gear the entire fight with Ryan Garcia last April, yet he still caved in after getting hit with a left to the body. Gervonta barely threw any punches in the fight, but he still dominated Ryan.
“It feels like another Romero Duno situation,” Ryan continued about his fight with Duarte. “Duno came in, knocking people out. We signed him, and they tried to throw him in with me. He was going to do something because he had power. I feel like this is a similar situation.
“Oscar has a little bit better technique, but again, power puncher, a big, strong guy. He really believes in his strength. He said when he was a kid, he used to life logs with his dad. So, he’s counting on his strength,” said Ryan Garcia.
Duno was knocked out by Frank Martin in the fourth round in his last fight, so that takes a little of the shine away from Ryan’s win over him. Duarte hasn’t knocked out before, and if he can take Ryan’s power, he definitely win this fight or make him go through hell to win.
If Ryan struggles against this level of opponent, you can write off his chances of beating any of the top fighters at 140. Duarte was picked out from the 135-lb division to ensure that Ryan didn’t suffer a setback, so he definitely can ill afford a loss to him.
“I got to be watching out for that, but I feel my pedigree and skill will take over. Oscar is not an easy fight. Obviously, he’s a tough fighter. This is going to prepare me for what’s ahead. I’m going to see where I’m at and how I feel at 140,” said Ryan.
There isn’t much pedigree to Ryan, as he’s not a guy with a distinguished amateur career like some of these guys. Ryan’s best wins have come against a shot 35-year-old Luke Campbell, Emmanuel Tagoe, Javier Fortuna, Franciso Fonseca, Carlos Morales [controversial], and Jayson Velez.
“For this fight, I’m bringing my fastest version to date because I’m fast, explosive, and very strong,” said Duarte. “So, in this fight, I’m bringing my fastest version of myself, and they will see me shine in this fight.”
Duarte is as slow as they get, making it difficult to take him seriously when he talks about bringing his “fastest version” of himself for this fight with Ryan. If the ten-year pro Duarte could improve his hand speed, don’t you think he would have done it by now?
“It’s going to be fire, man. They say everything is bigger in Texas. So, I’m going to be coming and bringing it,” said Ryan Garcia. “I’m always a fan-friendly fighter. You don’t get bored watching my fights ever, so you’re not going to be bored this time.”
Ryan needs to look good in this fight because if he labors to victory, it’s going to count as loss in the eyes of the fans. It’s one thing for Ryan to struggle to beat a talented 140-pounder like Devin Haney, Gary Antuane Russell, or Subriel Matias, but not when you’re fighting a bottom-feeder contender from the 135-lb division like Duarte.
“The opportunity of a lifetime presented itself, and I’m going to make the most of it,” said Duarte. “I know on the night on December 2nd, the whole world is going to know me. They will know who is Oscar Duarte.”
