Junior welterweight contender Ryan Garcia 23-1 (19) might have a fight lined up next month, but one man that remains on his mind is his sole conqueror Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis 29-0 (27).
Back in April, Garcia was stopped in seven rounds by the 29-year-old Baltimore southpaw in a catchweight bout fought at 136-pounds.
Los Angelan Garcia, 25, fought twice at 140-pound in 2022 after outgrowing the lightweight division. But the chance for a big payday and the opportunity to prove his doubters wrong convinced him to boil himself down to just one pound above the lightweight limit.
Now as he prepare for his fight against Oscar Duarte 26-1-1 (21) at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on December 2, he still finds himself thinking about Davis.
“I want to get my rematch at the right weight,” Garcia said to Fight Hub TV. “He knows it wasn’t who I really was. I’m way better than that and I’m better than him.
“I don’t care if he beat me. I’m better than him. Give me my rematch and I’ll beat him. If I’ve got to go through a Teofimo Lopez or a Devin Haney to get that, then I’m going to do it.”
But first Garcia will need to get past Mexican-born American Duarte, 27, something he says he can do based on natural ability.
“I don’t know nothing about him, but there’s a difference,” Garcia said. “I’m way more experienced and have more tools than him. He doesn’t have a lot of options with me.
“So I’m going to know what’s coming at me, but he’s not going to know what’s coming at him. It’s just simple. Oscar is going to come and try to fight and make it a tough fight, but how tough can you be when you keep getting punched in the face? You can’t be that tough.”
Tough but limited seems to be Garcia’s assessment of Duarte.
“I expect him to bring a hard fight, but I don’t see him win any rounds,” Garcia said. “I don’t see him even doing damage. Anything can happen in boxing, but as sharp as I am right now, I just don’t see it happening.”
Garcia says the loss to Davis was something of a blessing in disguise.
“That loss woke something else up, and it’s the worst thing that could happen to all the other opponents that I lost,” he said. “That’s the worst thing that could happen and I’m telling you, I’m coming back.
“They’re going to make a movie out of this, I promise. They’re going to make a movie: ‘This dude just lost but then come back and just takes over the game’.
“I’m telling you I’m sharp right now, sharp, sharp, sharp, and fast. You’re going to see something special. Be there.
“I’m telling you, watch this fight. Not because it’s Duarte – Duarte is tough – but it’s going to be an example of what’s to come. Mark my words, it’s going to be an example of what’s to come.
“I’m dead serious. I’ve never been this committed since 2020.”
