Oscar Duarte compared to GGG, is Ryan Garcia in trouble?

By Bob Smith - 12/01/2023 - Comments

Ryan Garcia’s opponent for this Saturday night, Oscar Duarte, is being compared to a younger, smaller version of GGG, Gennadiy Golovkin, which could be bad for the popular social media hybrid boxer.

Like Golovin, Duarte (26-1-1, 21 KOs) isn’t the fastest guy, but he has huge, thudding power that breaks down his opponents, causing them to fall apart.

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With the huge power that Duarte possesses, he could take Ryan Garcia out by the midway point on Saturday night in their headliner on DAZN, destroying what’s left of his shattered career.

To some fans, Ryan sounded slightly crazed during Thursday’s final press conference, talking about his promoters at Golden Boy Promotions choosing Duarte to get him beat, but this is a very, very dangerous opponent for anyone to face coming off a knockout loss, especially someone lacking confidence.

Duarte’s fighting style is eerily similar to a young GGG, as he comes forward looking to throw huge hooks to the head and body. He’s not messing around, throwing jabs.

Very popular in Mexico, Duarete focuses on winning his fights by knockouts, and he will undoubtedly be putting the 25-year-old Ryan under extreme stress on Saturday night.

This kind of puncher is bad news for Ryan, who has shown weakness with his mandible and ability to take body shots. Duarte has won his last 11 fights by knockout, and he’s in the zenith of his career at 27.

Duarte = 135-lb version of GGG

“I compare him to a GGG, but at 135 pounds,” said Barak Bess to DAZN Boxing, talking about Duarte. “Because of his style, the way he goes in with hooks rather than jabs, but it’s more like a 135-lb GGG.

“It’s a dangerous fight [for Ryan Garcia], but I think it’s a smaller guy. It’s a strategic to say, ‘I’m going to get a formidable opponent, but not somebody that is freaking huge because I’m new to 140 as well.’ In reality, Ryan has the most experience at 140.”

Duarte is a very dangerous fight for Ryan Garcia to be taking on, because he’s already shown that he’s susceptible to heavy punchers. Gervonta Davis dropped Ryan twice last April and could have arguably knocked him out within the first two rounds if he’d pressed the issue.

Luke Campbell had Ryan on the canvas, and he wasn’t a big puncher. Carlos Morales had Ryan buzzed in their fight in 2018. A lot of boxing fans felt that Ryan was gifted a ten round majority decision in that fight

“That could be key, that people are forgetting that Oscar Duarte is a lightweight, but it’s not like a super lightweight where guys are coming down from 170 and making that 140-lb [limit],” said Ade Oladipo.

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Duarte picked for Ryan by Derrick James

“Ryan said that Derrick [James] picked him out of three guys. It just goes to show you how confident his own trainer is with his [Duarte] style,” said Akin Reyes. “Derrick is a guy that watches the tape. I had some conversations with him yesterday.”

Duarte was Derrick’s pick. He’s the one who will get the blame if Ryan loses on Saturday night because he gave the green light for him to face Duarte next.

It’s unclear what Golden Boy boss Oscar De La Hoya felt about Ryan facing Duarte next, but he probably felt that if he can’t beat the powerful 135-pounder, then what’s the point?

Ryan won’t be able to swim with the sharks at 140 if he falls apart against Duarte, considering there are a lot of big punchers in the light welterweight division that will feast on him if his chin or his body can’t handle the heavy shots.

“He’s a student of the game. So, I’m pretty sure that he saw plenty of Duarte before telling Golden Boy, ‘Yes, we’ll go with him,” said Reyes.

Was it a mistake for Ryan to fight Duarte?

“We’ve seen trainers in the past make mistakes when picking opponents,” said Ade. “Oscar Duarte, 11 recent fights and 11 stoppages. This guy doesn’t like to get paid for overtime. This is live, isn’t it? This guy is coming in to win.”

Of course, Duarte is coming to win because it’s in his DNA, and he sees this fight as one that can make him a star overnight to earn massive life-changing money.

If Duarte wins this fight, Ryan will have no other choice but to try and avenge the loss in a rematch, and many of his 11 million followers on Instagram will eagerly tune in to watch him on DAZN PPV, knowing that his career will literally be on the line.

“He’s definitely a live dog; he has confidence,” said Bess about Duarte. “He has a whole country behind him; he’s a celebrity out there. So, he’s coming out here to win. He wants to change his life within boxing. He’s probably already paid in the entertainment world, but I just think he has a tall task ahead of him.

“We talked about him; we compared him to GGG and Canelo. He’s a dangerous fighter,” said Reyes about Duarte.

“He’s coming in super confident,” said Ade on the knockout artist Duarte. “Ryan, when a young kid loses at home, mentally, you have no idea how they survive and recover from it.”

If Duarte lands his heavy shots early on Ryan, it’s safe to say that he’ll get him out of there by the sixth round, and the boxing world will be in shock, particularly Gervonta Davis. That rematch that he’s likely secretly targeting will be up in smoke.

“It depends on who you lose to,” said Bess.

“Maybe that plays a small part, but just a loss in itself, a knockout loss in itself,” said Reyes about Ryan Garcia’s seventh round KO defeat against Gervonta Davis last April.”

Derrick convinced Ryan Garcia will handle Duarte

“I didn’t know him as a 135-pounder, but he’s looking good. I see the strength in his sparring, and I seen how well he’s doing with the other guys,” said trainer Derrick James to K.O Artist Sports, talking about Ryan Garcia moving up in weight to 140 to face 135-lb contender Oscar Duarte this Saturday night on DAZN.

“I know Duarte is a different kind of guy, very tough, very rough. So, I look forward to that, and I believe Ryan will be able to handle everything he gives. Yeah, I don’t know nothing about that,” said Derrick when the subject of Ryan Garcia having issues with his promoters at Golden Boy.

Derrick may have overestimated Ryan’s ability to handle a puncher like Duarte, and he could regret his decision to pick this guy for him to fight. In hindsight, Derrick should have focused on a feather-fisted fringe contender from the 135-lb division for Ryan to bat around the ring to give him a sure-thing win.

“We never talk about it. I don’t get into it. That’s some stuff before me,” said Derrick.

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