Young boxing superstar Ryan Garcia fought back from a second-round knockdown to defeat Luke Campbell via knockout in the seventh round.
Garcia is known for his social media popularity and quick hands but is often criticised for the stature of his opponents. The fight with Luke Campbell was his golden chance to silence the critics.
The Mexican American was heavily supported by the fans in attendance and started strong as he dominated the first round. Campbell looked frustrated, not being able to contain Garcia’s speed.
Despite his first-round struggles, Luke found a home for a left hook in the second, which dropped Garcia for the first time in his career.
The 22-year-olds response garnered attention across the boxing community, as he dominated every round until he triumphed through a sickening body shot in the seventh.
It is understandable for some to question Ryan’s hands right before being knocked down, and this will be a contentious topic. Nonetheless, the ability to withstand being dropped and to then come forward as if nothing happened was remarkable from the young prodigy.
British IBF Champion Josh Warrington was impressed with Garcia’s reaction, tweeting:
“Some shot that. Shown a lot did Garcia. Did well to get up and then took the fight to Luke.
Backed up his hype. Fair play”
Some shot that. Shown a lot did Garcia. Did well to get up and then took the fight to Luke.
Backed up his hype. Fair play 👏🥊💥#GarciaCampbell— Josh Warrington (@J_Warrington) January 3, 2021
With the victory, Ryan Garcia has many options. He now becomes mandatory to fight Devin Haney for the WBC lightweight championship. However, it appears a clash with fellow rising superstar Gervonta’ Tank’ Davis was in the works even before he fought Campbell.
With all the talk about boxing being dead, a matchup with Davis is what everyone would love to see. All the fans want is elite fighters taking on one another, and the potential matchup is a step in the right direction.
Recently in October, Davis knocked out Leo Santa Cruz with a vicious uppercut, and people on Twitter are concerned that Garcia’s knockdown against Luke Campbell may be a sign that he is not ready.
“Congrats to Ryan… but I think the kid the needs more work before stepping in with Tank.” Gabriel Rosado said on twitter
Congrats to Ryan… but I think the kid the needs more work before stepping in with Tank.
— Gabriel Rosado 🇵🇷🇺🇸 (@KingGabRosado) January 3, 2021
With this said, Ryan posted a fight banner to his 8.1 million followers on Instagram captioned “2 rounds,” implying that he will knock Davis out.
For Garcia, this would be a quick turnaround compared to 2020, which only saw him fight once. As the pair continue to go back-and-forth on social media, we will wait to see if anything eventuates as it undoubtedly has the potential to be the biggest fight of the year.
