Editor’s note: This article was originally posted on DAZN.com.
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Ryan Garcia’s seventh-round knockout of Luke Campbell on Saturday convinced a lot of doubters that “King Ry” is a bona fide member of a stacked division.
The fact Garcia had to weather a surprising knockdown in Round 2 — the first of his career — made the victory over Campbell all the more impressive, although it gave his team a huge fright.
Oscar De La Hoya, Garcia’s promoter, admitted afterward that the shots his man sustained were as vital to his progress as the pulverizing shot to Campbell’s liver that won the contest.
“It was like a flash knockdown, right? But it was a scary flash knockdown,” De La Hoya said. “And he became a man. That’s all there is to it. He became a man tonight. He needed this fight for validation. He needed this fight to prove to the boxing world that he belongs in there. And he passed with flying colors.
“He did what every great champion does, get right back up, especially from a really vicious [left] hook, it was a vicious [left] hook.”
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So how did De La Hoya rate Garcia’s performance? “A-plus, A-plus,” he said. “He did what he had to do. He took his time, he went after him when he had him hurt in [the sixth round]. People went crazy, and that’s the making of a superstar.”
The victory made Garcia the mandatory challenger to Devin Haney’s secondary title. However. De La Hoya was careful not to commit to anything just yet.
“Yeah, we could possibly see that happen when we’re ready, when Ryan is ready,” De La Hoya said. “Obviously Ryan is ready to face anybody, that’s never a doubt. But it’s gonna be on our terms. …
“And it doesn’t mean business or this and that. No, when he’s ready, when he wants to. Every champion out there needs Ryan Garcia. It’s not the other way around.”