Ryan Garcia is excited about his upcoming headliner twelve round fight against Oscar Duarte next month on December 2nd on DAZN at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
Ryan has labeled this bounce-back fight against Duarte as “another rise,” he believes it will return him to the position he was in before his recent seventh round knockout loss to Gervonta Davis last April.
If Ryan wins on December 2nd, he’ll be in line for lucrative fights against the Devin Haney vs. Regis Prograis winner, Tank Davis rematch, or Teofimo Lopez.
There’s also a possibility that Ryan could face Adrien ‘The Problem’ Broner,’ as the former four-division world champion came out of the woodwork last week, talking about how he just found out about an offer from Golden Boy for him to face Kingry.
Broner is reportedly now in training, hoping to get the fight with Ryan next. He wants Golden Boy to send the contract over to him.
Ryan Garcia in must-win fight
Duarte (26-1, 21 KOs) has been well-vetted by Golden Boy Promotions and deemed not a threat to beating Ryan Garcia, but you never know.
Although Duarte is very slow and a fringe-level lightweight, he can punch, and he’ll undoubtedly be targeting Ryan’s main weakness, his inability to take body shots.
If Duarte can land his hard shots to Ryan’s midsection, he might fall apart on December 2nd. A loss to this guy would put Oscar De La Hoya & Golden Boy Promotions in a near-impossible situation of trying to rebuild Ryan, and it’s questionable whether they could accomplish that task without matching him against exclusively second-tier non-contenders.
Before the 25-year-old Ryan’s loss to Tank Davis, he was still an unproven lightweight, with his only semi-notable win over British domestic-level fighter Luke Campbell.
Besides that older fighter, Ryan was never tested against the killers at 135, like Raymond Muratalla, Frank Martin, William Zepeda, or Shakur Stevenson.
Ideally, Ryan should have been thrown in with at least one of those four fighters before being given a fight against Tank Davis, as he would have at least proven whether he was worthy of the task of sharing the ring with him.
Most would agree that would have been the end-game for the popular social media star Ryan Garcia if Golden Boy had attempted to match him against one of those dangerous fighters.
It’s got to be tough for the 1992 Olympic gold medalist De La Hoya to have a fighter that needed to be carefully matched, as he didn’t have it that way with his career after turning professional.
By De La Hoya’s third year as a pro, he was already running the gauntlet, facing these talented fighters:
Rafael Ruelas
Genaro Hernandez
Jesse James Leija
Jorge Paez
Daryl Tyson
Julio Cesar Chavez
It would be nice to see the seven-year professional Ryan Garcia follow De La Hoya’s path to take on the killers, but that might be asking too much of him. I mean, Ryan already failed once, and he can’t afford to take losses.
“Another rise” comeback for Kingry
“You’re going to see another rise. I feel like, after my loss [to Gervonta Davis], I’m going to come back and get back on that same rise, that same trajectory that I was on,” said Ryan Garcia on social media, discussing his looking to bounce back fight against Oscar Duarte on December 2nd.
“This is round two of the rise of Kingry. Remember this rise right now because in two years, you’ll look back and be like, ‘Dang, Ryan called it. He did get back on that rise and never got off it.'”
For Ryan Garcia to show the fans he’s come back, he has to do much better than to beat a fringe lightweight contender like Duarte, as this guy isn’t even a 140-pounder.
If Ryan wants to prove himself, he’s got to fight the murderer’s row of the light welterweight division against these killers:
Subriel Matias
Devin Haney
Regis Prograis
Gary Antuanne Russell
Arnold Barboza Jr
Sandor Martin
Richardson Hitchins
This writer doesn’t count Teofimo Lopez among the super-talented fighters at 140, as he’s undependable and too shaky mentally with his performances.
“That’s me, guys. Remember, the fight is coming up on December 2nd, live on DAZN, against Oscar Duarte,” said Ryan Garcia. “It will be my return fight after my first defeat. So, I want you guys to see how I come back.
“Greater things at 140. Don’t miss it, guys. Spread the word. Please spread the word. On all my posts, I want you guys to comment on what round you think the fight will end or how it will go in the results, either decision, knockout, or whatever you think it is.”
There’s a good chance that Ryan’s career will be on skidrow after 2024 if Golden Boy takes the training wheels off him and throws him in with the ultra-talented fighters at 140.
“So, we can stay active and talk to each other,” said Ryan Garcia about his fight with 27-year-old Duarte on December 2nd.
