Former three-division world champion Jorge Linares feels that Ryan Garcia made his fight last Saturday night against Oscar Duarte much tougher than it should have been by failing to use the right tactics.
Ryan’s one-dimensional offense limited his effectiveness because he was predictable with what he was doing against a fighter that was made to order for him in 27-year-old Duarte (26-2-1, 21 KOs) in their headliner at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
Linares notes that Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs) was too dependent on his left hand and focused too much on his power game. He says he didn’t like the emphasis on using one hand, loading up on everything.
Linares thinks that Ryan should have utilized his jab and right hand, and added hooks with that hand. When Ryan did use his right, it was for straight punches that looked weak compared to his powerful left.
The way that Linares talking, he sounded like he’d be an option for Ryan to use as his new coach if he decides to swap out his current trainer Derrick James, who failed to improve him. James failed Ryan, and you know what that means. Sayonara, Derrick. Hello, new coach, Linares. Out with the old and in with the new.
Jorge saw not only technical problems in Ryan’s game but also He spotted huge flaws with Duarte, which took away any chances of him winning, and he definitely could have won, given how afraid Ryan looked.
Linares felt that Duarte fought “like a robot” all night, and could have made the fight much different if he’d used a double jab to set up his power punches.
Duarte could have taken Ryan’s wheels away from him if he’s speared him with jabs to the body, forcing him to stand stationary and fight. Of course, there’s nothing that Duarte could have done about the illegal straight arm that Ryan used to keep him getting close, but an assertive quality trainer would have spoken to the referee in between rounds after the first, pointing out that Kingry was blatantly cheating with that tactic.
The 25-year-old Kingry looked like someone who had a bad experience in training camp that sapped his confidence, leaving the shell-shocked person that we observed running around the ring, trying to keep from getting clipped by Duarte.
Whatever happened to Ryan in training camp for this fight, it must have been bad for him to come into the contest looking so scary and using this weird initiation of Mayweather’s Philly shell.
Linares would have likely told Ryan after the first round not to use that style, and there would have been less of a problem for him in the remaining rounds. Where was Derrick at? How could he let Ryan use that stupid style and mess it up the way he did?
Ryan Garcia could have finished Oscar Duarte fast
“He made it a little boring in the beginning because he was running and running and running. He depended on his [left-hand] punch, but he didn’t change anything,” said former three-division world champion Jorge Linares to K.O. Artist Sports about Ryan Garcia in his fight with Oscar Duarte.
Ryan wasn’t just running in “the beginning” of the fight, as Linares points out. He was running the entire fight, even in the eighth round. He knocked out Duarte because he used his straight arm to post him in punching range and nailed him with his left hook smash. It was all very ugly and sloppy as heck.
“The thing is, he has talent, he has power, he has speed, but he [Ryan] cannot change. What I would like to see is two jabs, right hand or jab, hook, right hand. He only depends on the [left-hand] punch,” said Linares about Ryan being offensively one-dimensional, only using his left hand.
“He’s fast, but if he changes some things with different combinations, he could have finished more fast,” said Linares.
Ryan does have good hand speed and a nice left hook, but that’s about it. He stands upright without bending his legs, and his defense is poor beyond words.
He doesn’t use his right hand for much of anything, and his jab was also rarely used. What we saw in the fight last Saturday was Ryan extending his left hand far in front of him to use as a barrier to keep Duarte from getting close. If Ryan had just jabbed, he wouldn’t have resorted to the illegal straight arm to keep Duarte on the outside.
“Oscar Duarte made a major mistake, a big mistake. He’s like a robot, you know? He never used the double jab. When you don’t use the jab, you cannot push the right hand. So, that was the problem,” said Linares.
“It was super boring, but in the seventh round, I was thinking that Ryan Garcia can have the timing and the tempo, he can finish. That’s why he finished the fight. He has the punch.
“No,” said Linares on whether Ryan looks different with his performance with new coach Derrick James. “He’s more tight, he’s more slow. He has speed. He naturally has speed and power, but he can’t change anything.”
It’s fair to say that Ryan looked considerably worse in his first fight under Derrick’s helm last Saturday than he did in his recent fights against Gervonta Davis and Javier Fortuna.
Honestly, when are we going to start seeing these supposedly great changes that Derrick has made in Ryan’s style thus far? He looks far, far worse and is heading for Palookaville.
“He’s running and running. He doesn’t need to be running. He needs to be [stationary], but it depends on the opponent too. This is a tough guy, a Mexican guy,” said Linares.
Ryan didn’t look like he was mentally capable, confidence-wise, of standing his ground and fighting Duarte. Something took away Ryan’s confidence completely, as he showed that he wanted no part of brawling with the hard-hitting Duarte.
“I hope he [Ryan Garcia] can change a little more because if I have the opportunity to teach him a couple of things, maybe he can be better, a better boxer.
Linares favors Teofimo Lopez over Ryan Garcia
“I think Teofimo is better than him 100%, but let’s see. You never know,” said Linares when asked about Ryan Garcia possibly fighting WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez in February.
Yeah, Linares is right about Teofimo being better than Ryan, and it would be a mistake for him to take that fight in February.
It won’t be a big payday for Ryan because Teofimo isn’t popular outside of the New York area, and he doesn’t even sell in NYC; hence his recent fight with Josh Taylor being staged at the tiny Hula Theater at Madison Square Garden, which didn’t even sell out.
“You see Shakur [Stevenson] in his last fight. Super boring, too. Now, we’re waiting to see the fight between [Regis] Prograis and [Devin] Haney. So, now 140 has a lot of good boxers, so let’s see,” said Linares.
“It’s just what I expected. I kept saying to everyone, ‘I’m very surprised that Ryan picked Oscar. There’s a reason I was surprised. He’s a tough son of a b*** here. I mean, man,” said Oscar De La Hoya at the post-fight press conference after Ryan’s win.
If De La Hoya is surprised that Ryan picked Duarte, why did he pick him as one of the three options? You offered Ryan a weak choice, and you’re surprised he took it?
