Oscar De La Hoya said that Ryan Garcia ‘became a man’ in his victory over Luke Campbell on Saturday.
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.”
Luke Campbell said the body shot from Ryan Garcia that stopped him ‘was the hardest shot I was ever hit with.’
Want to know how hard Ryan Garcia’s body shot was on Saturday? Let the man who took the blow tell you.
Luke Campbell is a former Olympic champion who has faced a number of top professionals in his seven-plus-year career. And he had never encountered any quite like what he faced at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
The Briton was stopped by a left hook to the gut at 1:58 of Round 7, the first time he hasn’t heard the final bell.
“He’s very heavy handed,” Campbell said. “Even when I was blocking the shots, I could feel them. That was the hardest shot I was ever hit with. I tried and tried to get up, but I couldn’t. I felt him coming on, and I was moving back. And when I moved back, my body relaxed a little bit and that’s the exact time he hit me.”
Campbell (20-4, 16 KOs) has now lost the three biggest fights in his career, competitive decisions in titles fights against Jorge Linares and Vasiliy Lomachenko and now the setback against Garcia.
And he’s 33 years old. You wonder how many more opportunities he will receive.
“I’m honestly heartbroken,” Campbell posted on Instagram. “I really wanted to bring the win back for you all. I’m sorry for that. I hope you all enjoyed the fight. Have to take my hat off to [Ryan Garcia], well done and a massive future ahead for him. I wish him all the best.”
Luke Campbell said the body shot from Ryan Garcia that stopped him ‘was the hardest shot I was ever hit with.’
Want to know how hard Ryan Garcia’s body shot was on Saturday? Let the man who took the blow tell you.
Luke Campbell is a former Olympic champion who has faced a number of top professionals in his seven-plus-year career. And he had never encountered any quite like what he faced at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
The Briton was stopped by a left hook to the gut at 1:58 of Round 7, the first time he hasn’t heard the final bell.
“He’s very heavy handed,” Campbell said. “Even when I was blocking the shots, I could feel them. That was the hardest shot I was ever hit with. I tried and tried to get up, but I couldn’t. I felt him coming on, and I was moving back. And when I moved back, my body relaxed a little bit and that’s the exact time he hit me.”
Campbell (20-4, 16 KOs) has now lost the three biggest fights in his career, competitive decisions in titles fights against Jorge Linares and Vasiliy Lomachenko and now the setback against Garcia.
And he’s 33 years old. You wonder how many more opportunities he will receive.
“I’m honestly heartbroken,” Campbell posted on Instagram. “I really wanted to bring the win back for you all. I’m sorry for that. I hope you all enjoyed the fight. Have to take my hat off to [Ryan Garcia], well done and a massive future ahead for him. I wish him all the best.”
A quick and powerful left hook won the interim WBC lightweight title for Ryan Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs). Garcia snuck in a body shot on Luke Campbell, who crumpled. It wasn’t a dramatic headshot. But it was so darn casual that you couldn’t help but watch the punch again.
How the heck did Garcia make that look so easy?
Even after Campbell knocked Garcia to the mat earlier in the match at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, he still managed to control the fight and end it in the seventh round on Saturday night. The legitimacy of the rise of Garcia, a 22-year-old American, seemed to be in question. His social media presence is tremendous. His accomplishments in the ring were less impressive. But this win over Campbell (20-4, 16 KOs) is Garcia’s most impressive of his young career.
Here’s what Campbell said about the punch after the match, via ESPN:
“That was the hardest shot I was ever hit with. I tried and tried to get up, but I couldn’t. I felt him coming on, and I was moving back, and when you move back, my body relaxed a little bit, and that’s the exact time he hit me.”
When Garcia hit the mat earlier in the match, some of his doubters on Twitter were saying he didn’t stand a chance and that Garcia’s streak was likely to end with a legitimate challenger. Alas, Garcia handled Campbell just fine, even after taking this massive left hook to the head.
Watch it: Ryan Garcia’s knockout shot to Luke Campbell’s body.
Ryan Garcia needed just one well-placed punch to the body to stop Luke Cambell on Saturday in Dallas.
Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) landed the punch midway through Round 7 of their scheduled 12-round lightweight bout. Campbell (20-4, 16 KOs) was in too much pain to rise before the count of 10.
The official ending came at 1:58.
Garcia went down himself — the knockdown of his career — from a big left hand in the second round but overcame the adversity to record the biggest victory in his young career.
Here are the highlights:
Ryan Garcia switched gears mid-fight and made a STATEMENT tonight 😤
Watch it: Ryan Garcia’s knockout shot to Luke Campbell’s body.
Ryan Garcia needed just one well-placed punch to the body to stop Luke Cambell on Saturday in Dallas.
Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) landed the punch midway through Round 7 of their scheduled 12-round lightweight bout. Campbell (20-4, 16 KOs) was in too much pain to rise before the count of 10.
The official ending came at 1:58.
Garcia went down himself — the knockdown of his career — from a big left hand in the second round but overcame the adversity to record the biggest victory in his young career.
Here are the highlights:
Ryan Garcia switched gears mid-fight and made a STATEMENT tonight 😤
Ryan Garcia got up from a knockdown to stop Luke Campbell in the seventh round Saturday in Dallas.
Ryan Garcia answered the important questions.
“King Ryan” got up from a second-round knockdown – the first of his career – to stop Luke Campbell with a left hook to the liver in the seventh round of their scheduled 12-round lightweight bout Saturday night at America Airlines Center in Dallas.
Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) entered the fight with a tremendous following. Now, after overcoming adversity and beating an elite foe for the first time, he has the substance to go along with it.
And he can say he one-upped former champions Jorge Linares and Vasiliy Lomachenko, both of whom defeated the seasoned 2012 Olympic champion form England in title fights but were unable to stop him.
“I think I showed a lot of people who I am,” Garcia said afterward.
Luke Campbell (left) put Ryan Garcia down with a left in Round 2. Tim Warner / Getty Images
Garcia has been the subject of considerable hype and the pressure that goes with that, particularly for a 22-year-old with limited experience. He has around 8 million followers on Instagram and a string of impressive victories. However, his opponents had been obscure.
That led everyone to ask: “Can he do the same thing against a legitimate threat like Campbell?”
Well, for a few dramatic seconds in the second round, the answer appeared as if it might be “no.” Campbell (20-4, 16 KOs) about halfway through the round landed a perfect left hook to the chin, which knocked Garcia down and onto his side.
Garcia said afterward that he was “dizzy” as a result of the shot but he didn’t look it. He got up, weathered a tame effort from Campbell to the finish the job and was in good shape when the bell rang.
Garcia (left) was the aggressor from the third round on. Tim Warner / Getty Images
“I wasn’t going to let anything stop me,” Garcia said. “Even when he dropped me … I got up. It was a good shot. I was cold and he dropped me. I was like, ‘I got dropped. This is crazy.’ I never got dropped in my life. I think I got a little too excited in the moment. I just felt like I could crack him but he cracked me. So I had to adjust and say, ‘OK. I have to calm down.’
“I knew I could beat him. I just had to get right back up and show everybody what a warrior really is.”
Garcia, still confident, was the aggressor from the third round on. He threw power shot after power shot in a controlled manner. Most were blocked by Campbell, a capable boxer, or missed the mark but some got through.
Meanwhile, Campbell boxed well on his back foot. Jabbing to the head and body, countering Garcia effectively at times and landing some heavy shots to the body.
Garcia seemed to stun Campbell in the final seconds of Round 5, when he landed a left hook to the temple. However, he seemed to recover quickly and held his own in the following round and early in Round 7.
Campbell couldn’t overcome the pain and was counted out. Tim Warner / Getty Images
The end came suddenly. Campbell evidently was bracing for a left hook to the head but Garcia crossed him up and directed it to his body. It landed directly on his liver, which put him down on one knee and then all fours as he tried to make sense of the pain.
He simply was hurting too badly to beat the count of 10 and the fight was over. The official was 1:58.
The moment Garcia realized he had recorded his biggest victory he broke into tears. Perhaps it was the break-through he had just orchestrated. Perhaps it was the “interim” belt he won. Perhaps it was the pressure dissipating into the ether.
It was probably all of the above. After he got past his emotional moment, he jumped into the arms of everyone in the ring who is close to him. That included stablemate Canelo Alvarez.
“I fought a gold medalist,” Garcia said. “… Pound-for-pound at the time Lomachenko couldn’t stop him. Linares dropped him but couldn’t finish him. I showed today that I’m special.”
Garcia was emotional after his break-through victory. Tim Warner / Getty Images
If Garcia had a bright future before the fight on Saturday, now it’s blinding.
Who’s next? It’s clear he wants Gervonta Davis, the big-punching 130-pound titleholder who also holds a secondary 135-pound belt. He and Garcia have called each other out. Garcia’s also open to fighting another secondary titleholder, Devin Haney, who was in the arena in Dallas.
“One thing is that I’m a man of my word,” Garcia said and then began to bellow. “Let’s go Tank! Let’s go Tank! I’m ready! Let’s go!” He then stopped and added, “I see you Devin. … I want to fight him too. I want to fight everybody.”
And they’re going to want to fight him more than ever after Saturday night.
Ryan Garcia got up from a knockdown to stop Luke Campbell in the seventh round Saturday in Dallas.
Ryan Garcia answered the important questions.
“King Ryan” got up from a second-round knockdown – the first of his career – to stop Luke Campbell with a left hook to the liver in the seventh round of their scheduled 12-round lightweight bout Saturday night at America Airlines Center in Dallas.
Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) entered the fight with a tremendous following. Now, after overcoming adversity and beating an elite foe for the first time, he has the substance to go along with it.
And he can say he one-upped former champions Jorge Linares and Vasiliy Lomachenko, both of whom defeated the seasoned 2012 Olympic champion form England in title fights but were unable to stop him.
“I think I showed a lot of people who I am,” Garcia said afterward.
Luke Campbell (left) put Ryan Garcia down with a left in Round 2. Tim Warner / Getty Images
Garcia has been the subject of considerable hype and the pressure that goes with that, particularly for a 22-year-old with limited experience. He has around 8 million followers on Instagram and a string of impressive victories. However, his opponents had been obscure.
That led everyone to ask: “Can he do the same thing against a legitimate threat like Campbell?”
Well, for a few dramatic seconds in the second round, the answer appeared as if it might be “no.” Campbell (20-4, 16 KOs) about halfway through the round landed a perfect left hook to the chin, which knocked Garcia down and onto his side.
Garcia said afterward that he was “dizzy” as a result of the shot but he didn’t look it. He got up, weathered a tame effort from Campbell to the finish the job and was in good shape when the bell rang.
Garcia (left) was the aggressor from the third round on. Tim Warner / Getty Images
“I wasn’t going to let anything stop me,” Garcia said. “Even when he dropped me … I got up. It was a good shot. I was cold and he dropped me. I was like, ‘I got dropped. This is crazy.’ I never got dropped in my life. I think I got a little too excited in the moment. I just felt like I could crack him but he cracked me. So I had to adjust and say, ‘OK. I have to calm down.’
“I knew I could beat him. I just had to get right back up and show everybody what a warrior really is.”
Garcia, still confident, was the aggressor from the third round on. He threw power shot after power shot in a controlled manner. Most were blocked by Campbell, a capable boxer, or missed the mark but some got through.
Meanwhile, Campbell boxed well on his back foot. Jabbing to the head and body, countering Garcia effectively at times and landing some heavy shots to the body.
Garcia seemed to stun Campbell in the final seconds of Round 5, when he landed a left hook to the temple. However, he seemed to recover quickly and held his own in the following round and early in Round 7.
Campbell couldn’t overcome the pain and was counted out. Tim Warner / Getty Images
The end came suddenly. Campbell evidently was bracing for a left hook to the head but Garcia crossed him up and directed it to his body. It landed directly on his liver, which put him down on one knee and then all fours as he tried to make sense of the pain.
He simply was hurting too badly to beat the count of 10 and the fight was over. The official was 1:58.
The moment Garcia realized he had recorded his biggest victory he broke into tears. Perhaps it was the break-through he had just orchestrated. Perhaps it was the “interim” belt he won. Perhaps it was the pressure dissipating into the ether.
It was probably all of the above. After he got past his emotional moment, he jumped into the arms of everyone in the ring who is close to him. That included stablemate Canelo Alvarez.
“I fought a gold medalist,” Garcia said. “… Pound-for-pound at the time Lomachenko couldn’t stop him. Linares dropped him but couldn’t finish him. I showed today that I’m special.”
Garcia was emotional after his break-through victory. Tim Warner / Getty Images
If Garcia had a bright future before the fight on Saturday, now it’s blinding.
Who’s next? It’s clear he wants Gervonta Davis, the big-punching 130-pound titleholder who also holds a secondary 135-pound belt. He and Garcia have called each other out. Garcia’s also open to fighting another secondary titleholder, Devin Haney, who was in the arena in Dallas.
“One thing is that I’m a man of my word,” Garcia said and then began to bellow. “Let’s go Tank! Let’s go Tank! I’m ready! Let’s go!” He then stopped and added, “I see you Devin. … I want to fight him too. I want to fight everybody.”
And they’re going to want to fight him more than ever after Saturday night.
Roger Gutierrez dropped Rene Alvarado three times and defeating him by a unanimous decision Saturday in Dallas.
Roger Gutierrez used big rounds to get past Rene Alvarado on the Ryan Garcia-Luke Campbell card Saturday in Dallas.
Gutierrez lost seven of 12 rounds but put his rival down three times to win a unanimous decision — 113-112 on all three cards — in a competitive junior lightweight bout. Boxing Junkie also scored it 113-112 for Gutierrez.
Gutierrez (25-3-1, 20 KOs) landed the decisive blow in the final round, when a short left hook to the chin put Alvarado (32-9, 21 KOs) down for a third time.
That gave the Venezuelan a 10-8 round, which was the difference in the scoring.
Gutierrez, who was stopped by Alvarado in 2017, had a huge third round. A right uppercut about 30 seconds into the round put Alvarado on the canvas. Moments later a straight put him down again.
At that point, Alvarado seemed to be on the verge of being stopped but, as Gutierrez slowed down, he was able to recover and land his own shots late in the round.
The rest of the fight was difficult to score, although Alvarado seemed to be somewhat busier and landed a few more clean shots.
Thus, the result was up in the air as the bell rang to start the final round. And Gutierrez seized the moment, scoring his knockdown to secure the victory.
Gutierrez took a secondary 130-pound title from Alvarado with the victory.
Alvarado’s twin brother, Felix, stopped Dee-jay Kriel in the preceding fight.
Roger Gutierrez dropped Rene Alvarado three times and defeating him by a unanimous decision Saturday in Dallas.
Roger Gutierrez used big rounds to get past Rene Alvarado on the Ryan Garcia-Luke Campbell card Saturday in Dallas.
Gutierrez lost seven of 12 rounds but put his rival down three times to win a unanimous decision — 113-112 on all three cards — in a competitive junior lightweight bout. Boxing Junkie also scored it 113-112 for Gutierrez.
Gutierrez (25-3-1, 20 KOs) landed the decisive blow in the final round, when a short left hook to the chin put Alvarado (32-9, 21 KOs) down for a third time.
That gave the Venezuelan a 10-8 round, which was the difference in the scoring.
Gutierrez, who was stopped by Alvarado in 2017, had a huge third round. A right uppercut about 30 seconds into the round put Alvarado on the canvas. Moments later a straight put him down again.
At that point, Alvarado seemed to be on the verge of being stopped but, as Gutierrez slowed down, he was able to recover and land his own shots late in the round.
The rest of the fight was difficult to score, although Alvarado seemed to be somewhat busier and landed a few more clean shots.
Thus, the result was up in the air as the bell rang to start the final round. And Gutierrez seized the moment, scoring his knockdown to secure the victory.
Gutierrez took a secondary 130-pound title from Alvarado with the victory.
Alvarado’s twin brother, Felix, stopped Dee-jay Kriel in the preceding fight.
