Ryan Garcia (24-0, 20 KOs) immediately called out WBA light welterweight champion Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero after stopping lightweight Oscar Duarte (26-2-1, 21 KOs) in the eighth round of their 143-lb catchweight fight on Saturday night in Houston, Texas.
Well, at least Ryan knows his level. He may be a tad bit narcissistic, but he’s not crazy. He knows his limitations as a fighter. If Ryan picked out IBF 140-lb champion Subriel Matias, they’d have to scoop Kingry off the canvas with a giant spatula afterward.
The fact that Ryan called out Rolly after the fight shows loud & clear that he’s just in this for the money, not legacy, because that match will get laughed at by fans, and he’ll be criticized nonstop, especially if he loses and probably will.
As far as Ryan’s fight with Duarte, he looked something awful, running around, turning his back to the Mexican fighter constantly, as if to ‘Don’t hit me,’ while looking at the referee James Green for help.
If Duarte had even an ounce of talent, he’d have knocked Ryan out the first few times he turned his back to him. Where on earth did Ryan learn the back-turning bit he used tonight?
Was it his new trainer Derrick James who told him, ‘Hey, I got an idea. Turn your back to him, and maybe he’ll go easy on you.‘ If Derrick is the one who planted that hair-brain idea into Ryan’s head to do that, he needs to fire him right away and get someone who knows what the heck they’re doing.
If you thought Shakur Stevenson’s recent performance was bad, Ryan’s effort took the cake. It was worse than awful, and it was hilarious to listen to Oscar De La Hoya pouring on the compliments afterward, trying to keep a straight face.
It was surprising and disappointing at the same time to listen to Ryan calling out Rolly (15-1, 13 KOs) for a world title next, as he’s clearly the weakest link by far for the four light welterweight champions. He’s viewed as both illegitimate and a paper champion.
Rolly was getting dominated by 40-year-old Ismael Barroso last May through the first eight rounds, and then suddenly, referee Tony Weeks stepped in and halted the fight after he threw a flurry of punches, all missing badly. Weeks looked like he’d been asleep in the ring and woke up, thinking, ‘Oh, look, a fight, let me stop it.’
Chris Mannix: “You’re still the money guy in this 140-lb division. You mentioned Rolly Romero, the WBA title holder. Is that the fight you want next?”
Ryan Garcia: “Yeah, let’s keep building; then we can go after Devin Haney, all the other dudes, and Teofimo. We got to take our steps, build with Derrick James, my first fight and then we go from there.
“I want to become a champion. That’s my goal,” said Ryan when asked if he’d like to fight the winner of the Devin Haney vs. Regis Prograis fight on December 9th.
Ryan must be awfully desperate to become a world champion for him to pick out Rolly Romero to try and capture a world title because that is a ridiculous choice but so utterly predictable.
If Ryan believed in himself, he’d pick IBF champion Subriel Matias because he’s clearly the best of the four champions at 140. Teofimo Lopez is just a basket case and would probably fall apart long before he makes it to the ring.
Devin Haney already said he’s moving up to 147 if he beats WBC 140-lb champion Regis Prograis, and considering how huge he’s looking, it makes sense. Haney is too big for the 140-lb division and needs to go up to 147 to keep from looking like Skeletor at the weigh-in.
“I want Rolly, to be honest. I feel like it’s a fun fight. He’s aggressive, a crazy dude. The lead-up would be crazy. Yeah, I want that. He has a title technically; yeah, let’s do it. I don’t know if you have a real injury or not,” said Ryan when asked what message he has for Rolly, who hasn’t fought since his controversial ninth round stoppage win over 40-year-old Ismael Barroso last May.
Sickbay commando Rolly is probably celebrating right now and will make a quick recovery knowing that he’s going to get retirement money from a fight with Ryan.
