Ryan Garcia weighed in at 143 lbs, and his opponent, Oscar Duarte, came in at 142.8 pounds at Friday’s weigh-in for their twelve round fight on DAZN this Saturday, December 2, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
Ryan (23-1, 19 KOs) smirked at Duarte (26-1-1, 21 KOs) during their face-off after both weighed in for their catchweight bout. The look on Ryan’s face suggested that Duarte isn’t in the same league as him and will be getting dusted off quickly on Saturday.
During Thursday’s final press conference, Ryan said that Duarte is like another Romero Duno-level fighter, a guy that he says Golden Boy Promotions brought in to get him beat.
Did Ryan Garcia need weight to be moved up?
It’s unclear whether the weight was adjusted up from the 140-lb limit due to one of the fighters being unable to make the light welterweight limit, as nothing had been mentioned during the build-up to the Ryan Garcia vs. Oscar Duarte contest that there would be a catchweight involved.
If one of the two fighters did need to have the weight increased, that would explain why both of them came in over 140. Given that Ryan was the heavier guy at 143, it could be that he was the one who needed the weight to be adjusted over the 140-lb limit.
Ryan will be up the creek if he can’t make the 140-lb limit in the future, as there are too many big punchers in the 147-lb division that would give him massive problems, starting with Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
There’s very little chance that Ryan can exist in the welterweight division, as that weight class is teaming with sharks, who would make an easy meal out of Kingry.
The skies are the limit for Ryan Garcia if he wins
“As a friend, as a person, as a promoter, sometimes I think that’s not him,” said Oscar De La Hoya to Fight Hub TV, talking about Ryan Garcia. “What’s going on? Why are we beefing? I don’t understand. Maybe it’s the nerves?
“He said it himself out of his mouth that the issues that he’s having, this and that. I don’t know. I’m just concerned. He should focus on his fight, focus on his training, and get the job at hand done,” De La Hoya said about Ryan Garcia needing to put his attention on his fight with Oscar Duarte on Saturday night.
The beef that Ryan has with Golden Boy will likely be taken care of, and they can continue working together. De La Hoya wants to match Ryan against the Devin Haney vs. Regis Prograis fight winner. That’ll give Ryan a chance to capture the WBC 140-lb belt, which would be huge for his career.
“It’s concerning, it’s a genuine concern. Business is business, that’s all it is,” said De La Hoya when asked how he’s able to continue his working relationship with Ryan, given all the issues they’re having recently.
“I don’t think so. There are other guys out there who Ryan can fight. At 140, it’s stacked,” said De La Hoya when asked if he’d be interested in matching Ryan Garcia against WBA light welterweight champion Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero next if he successfully defeats Duarte on Saturday night.
There’s no gain for Ryan if he faces Rolly for his WBA 140-lb belt, as he’s seen as an illegitimate champion after the controversy of his strange ninth round stoppage win over 40-year-old Ismael Barroso last May in Las Vegas.
The fighters that Ryan needs to focus on at 140 are these guys:
- Devin Haney
- Regis Prograis
- Teofimo Lopez
- Subriel Matias
- Arnold Barboza Jr.
“I can’t name fighters off the top of my head right now, but with Ryan, the skies are the limit if he wins on Saturday night. That’s a good one. I’m going to be looking at that fight very carefully,” said De La Hoya on whether he wants to match Ryan against the winner of the December 9th fight between WBC 140-lb champion Regis Prograis and Devin Haney.
As long as Ryan beats Duarte and stays focused on his craft, he could capture a world title in 2024. He’s got to stop focusing on stuff that doesn’t matter, namely, worried about being criticized for his poor performances.
He needs to be listening to the people who are telling him to improve his performance because they’re not trying to mess with him. They’re telling him that the way he’s fighting right now isn’t good enough to get the job done, and he’s got to accept their advice without expecting them to give him false praise.
“Prograis is a hell of a fighter. Haney is a supreme talent, and possibly the winner can get it on with Ryan next. Hopefully, maybe, we’ll see. We’re having some issues with the Sphere [in Las Vegas] because of the technology, but we’ll put it in a good spot.”
All weights:
Ryan Garcia 142.8 vs. Oscar Duarte 143
Floyd Schofield 135 vs. Ricardo Lopez 134.2
Shane Mosley Jr. 159.4 vs. Joshua Conley 163.6
Darius Fulghum 167.6 vs. Pachino Hill 170
