Ryan Garcia is taking a confidence booster against 135-lb cellar-dweller Oscar Duarte this Saturday, December 2nd, live on DAZN in a must-win fight for the Golden Boy fighter at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
This is a second chance for the 25-year-old Ryan, who thus far has shown an unwillingness to confront the unpleasant reality of his career. He’s just not good enough to compete with the best and probably never will be.
Saturday’s fight with lower-tier fighter Duarte is an opportunity for Ryan to get back to where he was before his recent loss, as a mid-range fighter
If Ryan loses to this low-level opponent, it’s game over, and will be virtually impossible for Golden Boy or any promoter to pick up the pieces of his shattered career.
The little-known 27-year-old Duarte has been picked out to give Ryan a chance to shine to make fans erase the image burned into their minds of him quitting on one knee against Gervonta Davis last April.
Although this is technically a tune-up fight for Ryan Garcia, it could still wreck his career because Duarte has power, and he punches well to the body.
Keys to Saturday’s Ryan Garcia vs. Oscar Duarte fight
- Ryan’s ability to take body shots: We saw how Ryan folded like a cheap suit when he was hit to the body by Gervonta Davis. As the saying goes, ‘Once a quitter, always a quitter.’ If Ryan quit once, he could quit again.
- Can Duarte handle Garcia’s power?: If Duarte can handle Ryan’s primary weapon, the left hook smash, he’s got a good chance of winning this fight because he doesn’t have any other tools in his offense arsenal besides that.
- Stamina: Ryan has looked vulnerable in the later rounds of his fights against Carlos Morales and Jayson Velez, two ham & eggers. If Duarte can hang around into the later rounds, he’s got a good chance of knocking out a tired Kingry.
Ryan predicts “spectacular win” against Duarte
“I feel like I deserve to give myself to be a champion. I’m longing for a championship title now,” said Ryan Garcia to DAZN Boxing, about his winning to become a world champion.
“It’s going to be a spectacular win. We’re going to build it up again. I feel it, I know it,” said Ryan about his rebuilding, confidence booster clash against Oscar Duarte on Saturday night.
The 27-year-old Duarte’s hand & foot speed is similar to past Ryan opponents like Romero Duno and Francisco Fonseca, so he should be able to starch this guy with one of his trademark left hook smash shots on Saturday.
This guy is a textbook fodder-level opponent, prime for Ryan Garcia to flatten with a left hook. Literally, it doesn’t get better than this if you were to pick a guy who was ideal for Ryan to score a highlight reel knockout.
“It was between two guys. I trust my coaches on who I should fight, and it was Oscar Duarte,” said Ryan. “Oscar Duarte is a heavy puncher. I want to win a world title, but if I can’t beat Oscar Duarte [I’m not going to win a world title].”
Ryan’s coaches obviously know a soft touch when they see one, and Duarte is exactly that. The guy has a record that is utterly poor, filled with wins over fluff opposition from top to bottom.
Duarte a prime example of a manufactured fighter, a fighter that has been built to make him look better than he actually is. What’s interesting is that his promoters weren’t willing to at least attempt to put him with a live body at some point earlier in his ten-year professional career.
I guess they gave up on the idea of matching Duarte against top-tier after he lost to journeyman Adrian Estrella by a ten round split decision in 2019. When Duarete lost to that guy, his management backed away completely from putting him in with opposition with even an ounce of ability.
“I feel the layoff from Tank wasn’t that long, so I still feel right there. I’m not discouraged by the loss, so it’s not going to affect me. It’s going to be a tough fight, and I got to be extra cautious. I know I’m ready.
Ryan wants Haney
Kingry says he’ll have his eyes on the December 9th fight between WBC light welterweight champion Regis Prograis & Devin Haney, as he’d like to face the winner eventually.
That said, Ryan doesn’t necessarily want that to be his next fight after his confidence-builder clash against Duarte because he thinks he needs another fight or two under his belt at 140 before facing the Haney-Prograis winner.
“I’m going to be watching it real close. Devin Haney has been on the list of future opponents for a while,” said Ryan when asked if he’ll be paying close attention to the Devin Haney vs. Regis Prograis fight on December 9th.
“He’s [Haney] been doing really good. Regis is also a good fighter. So, I’ll be looking at it. I want the world title. So, I have a long history with Devin. It’s been building up for a minute, and I think people want to see that. So, I’ll be looking forward to it,” said Ryan.
It would make sense for Ryan to take on someone solid to help him prepare for the fight with Haney or Prograis because fighting Duarte is a complete waste of his time. For the 25-year-old Ryan to get ready to take on either of those guys, he needs to sharpen his tools against one of these light welterweight contenders:
- Arnold Barboza Jr
- Liam Paro
- Jose Ramirez
- Jamaine Ortiz
- Brandun Lee
- Michel Rivera
- Elvis Rodriguez
“We fought six times. Three and three” said Ryan on how many times he fought Haney in the amateurs. When I [beat] him, I cracked him. When he fought me, it was points. I was banging on him. I was hurting him.
“I think I need to do my part on exploding the 140 division, so I got some work to do. He’s been doing his thing. So, I’m going to have those performances again and do what I do, and then we can run it for a big one,” said Ryan, on his wanting to face Haney.
If Ryan can make it to the fight with Haney without suffering an additional loss, that clash will be huge for the 140-lb division and will make a ton of dough for him.
Ryan must build up the fight by taking on some talented fringe contenders at 140 to get boxing fans excited about seeing him face Haney because they won’t believe in him if he continues to face bottom feeders from the 135-lb division like we’re seeing him fighting Duarte this Saturday. Ryan shouldn’t be fighting a lightweight as his comeback opponent at light welterweight, as that doesn’t make sense.
“I got to be smart, I got to be realistic. I’m not just going to go to Duarte straight to Devin. That doesn’t make sense. I think I need to establish myself. This guy is for real at 140. Be careful, so that’s what I’m going to do,” said Ryan.
Kingry stronger at 140
“I think people aren’t educated on the sport because those last few pounds can kill you to get there. Those extra pounds are a relief for your body,” said Ryan Garcia on the criticism he’s taken from fans about the big deal he made about fighting Tank Davis at a 136 catchweight rather than 140.
Ryan doesn’t want to face reality
It’s sad & pathetic for Ryan to be still trying to use weight as his excuse for his loss to Gervonta last April because that’s NOT the reason he lost that fight. Using this empty excuse is evidence that Ryan still can’t face reality about his failures, and avoiding the painful truth.
Even if that contest had taken place at 140 without any weight stipulations, he still would have been knocked out. The fact is, Ryan can’t take body shots, and that’s a problem that would have been present at any weight, so it’s
“If you’re not able to rehydrate the way you want, that’s even worse,” said Ryan. “That’s a huge disadvantage. It’s a relief. I can focus on my skills. I’m not even tripping about my weight,” said Ryan about his thoughts on fighting at 140 for his clash against Duarte this Saturday rather than at 135.
“It’s a huge relief. I feel like I was fighting good at 140. Against Fortuna, I feel like my mind was there; I was sharp and could take the punches. I guess [former super featherweight] Fortuna wasn’t a true 140, but I felt better regardless of who the opponent was.
“I felt better at that weight class and felt sharper and more conscious. So, I think you’re going to see a great performance from me. Yeah, if it was a book,” said Ryan Garcia when asked if this is a new chapter for him, moving up officially to 140, beginning the rebuilding process after his loss to Gervonta.
“It was a fun chapter in the beginning, and now we’re in a new one. I think you’ll see another rise of mine, another great trajectory. ‘Damn, Ryan is back, it’s going to be fire, it’s going to be a fun ride,” said Ryan.
