Caroline Rhéaume
Young American boxing sensation, Ryan Garcia, is the prospect of the week. Ryan “Kingry” Garcia is undefeated in his 12 professional fights. Eleven of his wins were by KO. On December 16, he will be facing Noe Martinez Raygoza (23-9-2), a 24-year-old Mexican, on the Billy Joe Saunders vs David Lemieux undercard. Ryan will be defending his Junior NABF Super Featherweight belt in an 8-round fight.
Born in Victorville, California, Ryan was introduced to boxing by his father and his uncle, who were both boxers at the time. Ryan began boxing at age 7. He is now 19 years old. Trained by his father Henry, Ryan compiled an incredible 215-15 record as an amateur and is a 15-time National Amateur Champion. Garcia turned professional at the age of 17. Because he could not legally fight professionally in the U.S. until being 18, he fought in Mexico four times before his 18th birthday. After two more fights, which took place in the United States, he was recruited by Oscar De La Hoya in November 2016. One interesting thing is that Oscar De La Hoya surprised Ryan, while he was giving a speech at an event organized by Door of Hope, to announce to him that he had been signed by Golden Boy Promotions. His message to Ryan and to the people attending the event was: “Dreams do come true”. Oscar De La Hoya is full of praise for Garcia. Many see similarities between De La Hoya and Garcia: the look, the style, and their left hook. Oscar mentors Ryan and even calls him his little brother. According to some sources, at the time of the signing of the contract with Golden Boy Promotions, a request had been made to have De La Hoya train Ryan occasionally.
Ryan’s first fight with Golden Boy was at the Fabulous Forum in Inglewood, California, in December 2016, on the Bernard Hopkins vs Joe Smith undercard. Right at that moment, many saw that Garcia had great potential. He made tremendous progress since then.
Ryan is an explosive boxer with unreal speed. He possesses lightning fast reflexes and a lethal left hook. He is totally dedicated to boxing. His fights rarely go beyond the second round. He is also very charismatic.
Ryan Garcia is flamboyant not only inside the ring, but outside the ring as well. He uses social media a lot to promote his career. He has more than 260,000 followers on Instagram and new followers add up every day. In addition, he posts videos on YouTube about his career or simply about his life in general to please his fans.
Robert Diaz, Golden Boy Promotions matchmaker, was recently saying that starting in 2018, Ryan should be fighting more challenging boxers. Diaz would like to see him with a step-up opponent, maybe a young boxer that fought for a world title before. Robert Diaz added that Ryan may soon be ready for a main event on ESPN. Starting next year, Ryan should be ready for a 10-round fight. But Oscar De La Hoya wants to take his time with Garcia.
With respect to Ryan, his main objective is to become a great champion and win titles in multiple weight classes.
Ryan’s brother, Sean, recently turned pro and won his first fight. It will be interesting to follow his career and his progression. Clearly, he has talent. Sean is also trained by his father. Training does not take place at the gym but generally takes place in the garage of the family home. When getting closer to a fight, part of the training camp takes place in Las Vegas.
It will be interesting to see how Ryan Garcia will react when facing tougher opponents, or after a loss, should that happen. Time will tell, but Garcia has character and has only one goal in mind: winning.
In the meantime, Quebecers will have the chance to see Ryan Garcia in action on December 16, in Laval, who will look to keep his Junior NABF belt and keep his undefeated record. Without a doubt, Ryan will be ready to take up the challenge. An advice for spectators, keep your eyes on the ring.