Tag: Oscar Duarte

Weekend Review: Ryan Garcia took a significant step forward with knockout

Weekend Review: Ryan Garcia took a significant step forward with his eighth-round knockout of Oscar Duarte on Saturday.

A critical look at the past week in boxing

BIGGEST WINNER

Was it a brilliant performance? No. Was it a significant step in the right direction? Absolutely. Ryan Garcia put his knockout loss to Gervonta Davis farther behind him on Saturday night in Houston, stopping durable, but limited Oscar Duarte (26-2-1, 21 KOs) in eight rounds. The popular 140-pound contender had some trouble with Duarte, who can take a punch and is difficult to discourage. However, Garcia (24-1, 21 KOs) finally caught the Mexican with the perfect punch – a left hook to the temple – and was able to put him away, reminding us of what he’s capable of under new trainer Derrick James and making a solid statement to kick off a new phase in his career. I didn’t think the performance was perfect but it was particularly good given the pressure to win after the Davis disaster and his bizarre public rift with his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions. And afterward he didn’t get ahead of himself, which I thought was a positive. He called out titleholder Rolando Romero and mentioned Devin Haney but also said he needs to take one step at a time and continue to improve. I think the best of Ryan Garcia is in his future.

RABBIT PUNCHES

Garcia is an attractive opponent for any of the top 140-pounders because of his massive social media presence and now a high-profile comeback victory. I think matchups with Romero, beltholders Teofimo Lopez and Subriel Matias or next week’s Haney-Regis Prograis winner are legitimate strictly from a boxing standpoint. Garcia at his best can give any of the above problems because of his combination of skill, speed and power. … Garcia was leading Duarte on all three scorecards after seven rounds, 69-64, 68-65 and 68-65. He did a good job of winning rounds with quick, accurate power shots and movement that made it difficult for Duarte to get anything done. The loser had some success when Garcia became more stationery in Rounds 5 and 6 (he won both on two cards) but he went back to moving after that, which made Duarte’s mission impossible. … The fighters had similar CompuBox stats. Garcia outlanded his opponent 70-69 overall but Duarte had a 62-55 edge in power shots. Those numbers added up to nothing, however, Garcia clearly landed the cleaner punches, including the one that led to Duarte’s demise. …

I have to give Shane Mosley Jr. credit. I wrote early in his professional career that the son of Hall of Famer Shane Mosley didn’t appear to have the tools to succeed. I was wrong. He has become a solid fighter, which was evident again on the Garcia-Duarte card. Mosley (21-4, 12 KOs) stopped Joshua Conley (17-6-1, 11 KOs) after six rounds. Mosley, who is ranked at 160 pounds by all four major sanctioning bodies, might never win a world title but it’s a good bet he’ll fight for one. And I don’t think he’ll embarrass himself when he does. Shane Sr. should be proud. … Golden Boy appears to have an excellent young contender in Floyd Schofield, a 21-year-old 130-pounder from New Jersey. Schofield made a strong statement in only 1 minute, 51 seconds on the Garcia-Duarte card, putting Ricardo Lopez (17-8-3, 12 KOs) down four times before the fight was stopped in less than a full round. Schofield (16-0, 12 KOs) is skillful, quick and powerful. I look forward to seeing what he can do against next-level opposition.

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Weekend Review: Ryan Garcia took a significant step forward with knockout

Weekend Review: Ryan Garcia took a significant step forward with his eighth-round knockout of Oscar Duarte on Saturday.

A critical look at the past week in boxing

BIGGEST WINNER

Was it a brilliant performance? No. Was it a significant step in the right direction? Absolutely. Ryan Garcia put his knockout loss to Gervonta Davis farther behind him on Saturday night in Houston, stopping durable, but limited Oscar Duarte (26-2-1, 21 KOs) in eight rounds. The popular 140-pound contender had some trouble with Duarte, who can take a punch and is difficult to discourage. However, Garcia (24-1, 21 KOs) finally caught the Mexican with the perfect punch – a left hook to the temple – and was able to put him away, reminding us of what he’s capable of under new trainer Derrick James and making a solid statement to kick off a new phase in his career. I didn’t think the performance was perfect but it was particularly good given the pressure to win after the Davis disaster and his bizarre public rift with his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions. And afterward he didn’t get ahead of himself, which I thought was a positive. He called out titleholder Rolando Romero and mentioned Devin Haney but also said he needs to take one step at a time and continue to improve. I think the best of Ryan Garcia is in his future.

RABBIT PUNCHES

Garcia is an attractive opponent for any of the top 140-pounders because of his massive social media presence and now a high-profile comeback victory. I think matchups with Romero, beltholders Teofimo Lopez and Subriel Matias or next week’s Haney-Regis Prograis winner are legitimate strictly from a boxing standpoint. Garcia at his best can give any of the above problems because of his combination of skill, speed and power. … Garcia was leading Duarte on all three scorecards after seven rounds, 69-64, 68-65 and 68-65. He did a good job of winning rounds with quick, accurate power shots and movement that made it difficult for Duarte to get anything done. The loser had some success when Garcia became more stationery in Rounds 5 and 6 (he won both on two cards) but he went back to moving after that, which made Duarte’s mission impossible. … The fighters had similar CompuBox stats. Garcia outlanded his opponent 70-69 overall but Duarte had a 62-55 edge in power shots. Those numbers added up to nothing, however, Garcia clearly landed the cleaner punches, including the one that led to Duarte’s demise. …

I have to give Shane Mosley Jr. credit. I wrote early in his professional career that the son of Hall of Famer Shane Mosley didn’t appear to have the tools to succeed. I was wrong. He has become a solid fighter, which was evident again on the Garcia-Duarte card. Mosley (21-4, 12 KOs) stopped Joshua Conley (17-6-1, 11 KOs) after six rounds. Mosley, who is ranked at 160 pounds by all four major sanctioning bodies, might never win a world title but it’s a good bet he’ll fight for one. And I don’t think he’ll embarrass himself when he does. Shane Sr. should be proud. … Golden Boy appears to have an excellent young contender in Floyd Schofield, a 21-year-old 130-pounder from New Jersey. Schofield made a strong statement in only 1 minute, 51 seconds on the Garcia-Duarte card, putting Ricardo Lopez (17-8-3, 12 KOs) down four times before the fight was stopped in less than a full round. Schofield (16-0, 12 KOs) is skillful, quick and powerful. I look forward to seeing what he can do against next-level opposition.

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Photos: Ryan Garcia makes strong statement with knockout in comeback fight

Photos: Ryan Garcia made a strong statement with a knockout of Oscar Duarte in his comeback fight.

Ryan Garcia made a successful return to the ring on Saturday night in Houston, knocking out Oscar Duarte in the eighth round of a 140-pound bout.

Here are images from the fight. All photos by Carmen Mandato of Getty Images.

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Watch: Ryan Garcia’s brutal knockout of tough Mexican Oscar Duarte

Watch: Ryan Garcia’s brutal knockout of tough Mexican Oscar Duarte on Saturday in Houston.

Ryan Garcia delivered another knockout victory on Saturday in Houston.

The 140-pound contender, coming off a loss to Gervonta Davis, hurt Oscar Duarte with a left hook and then finished the job with a flurry of hard shots in the eighth round a scheduled 12-rounder.

Check out the stoppage below.

[lawrence-related id=39956,39946]

Watch: Ryan Garcia’s brutal knockout of tough Mexican Oscar Duarte

Watch: Ryan Garcia’s brutal knockout of tough Mexican Oscar Duarte on Saturday in Houston.

Ryan Garcia delivered another knockout victory on Saturday in Houston.

The 140-pound contender, coming off a loss to Gervonta Davis, hurt Oscar Duarte with a left hook and then finished the job with a flurry of hard shots in the eighth round a scheduled 12-rounder.

Check out the stoppage below.

[lawrence-related id=39956,39946]

Ryan Garcia bounces back with eighth-round KO of Oscar Duarte

Ryan Garcia bounced back from his seventh-round knockout loss against Gervonta Davis by stopping Oscar Duarte in the eighth Saturday.

Everything is OK with Ryan Garcia in the ring.

The 140-pound contender looked a lot like the Garcia of old Saturday night at Toyota Center in Houston, where he knocked out Oscar Duarte late in the eighth round of a scheduled 12-rounder.

It was exactly the type of performance the social media star needed in light of recent events.

Let’s start with this past April, when he suffered the first loss of his career against Gervonta Davis. And it wasn’t pretty. “Tank” ended the fight with a single body shot.

He later moved on from trainer Joe Goossen and his hometown of Los Angeles, moving to Dallas to work with Derrick James.

Then came the latest episode in ongoing drama related to his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, only two days before the fight. Garcia said at a news conference that his handlers were backing Duarte.

Bad loss. New trainer, Sour relationship with your promoter. Everyone wondered what Garcia would bring to the ring.

Well, he fought like the man who brutally knocked out Luke Campbell and Javier Fortuna in pre-Gervonta Davis fights to earn the respect of the boxing world.

Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) used his impressive combination of stick-and-move boxing ability and punching power to control the fight against Duarte, a tough, hard-punching Mexican with limited skills.

“King Ry” used his jab as a range finder and followed with quick, mostly single power shots – including some nasty uppercuts – that often found the head of Duarte while continually moving around the ring, which generally frustrated the underdog.

Duarte had some success in Rounds 5 and 6, when Garcia became more stationery and got trapped against the ropes a few times. However, Garcia got back to moving in Round 7 and Duarte could get nothing done.

Duarte had demonstrated that he has a durable chin, taking many hard punches well leading into Round 8. However, a left hook to his temple with about 30 seconds remaining in the round finally hurt him.

Garcia followed with a flurry of punches that forced Duarte to take a knee, where he tried to recover. And while he popped up around 9.5 seconds into the 10 count, referee James Green stopped the fight.

“I have a killer instinct,” Garcia said afterward. “… It was pretty basic technically. I just step back, he reaches, I catch him with a counter left hook.”

And, he said, the victory was only his first step in a fresh start.

He expressed his gratitude to James, who obviously had his new fighter in good form for the fight. James also works with Jermell Charlo, Errol Spence Jr. and Anthony Joshua in Dallas.

“Shout out to Derrick James,” Garcia said. “We worked hard. This was our first fight together. We’ll build off of this and get better. I’m committed to becoming a world champion.”

Garcia is an attractive opponent for anyone because of his massive following, which generates a great deal of money.

And now, with an impressive victory under his belt and the setback against Davis farther in the past, he’s in a good position to face one of the top fighters in the deep junior welterweight division.

He called out Rolando Romero, the WBA titleholder. “If Rolly wants that, bring it on,” he said. “I know you’ve been talking a lot. Bring it on.”

However, he doesn’t want to look too far into the future.

“Yeah, let’s keep building and then go after Devin Haney and all the other dudes,” he said. “We got to take our steps, building with Derrick James – it was our first fight – and then go from there.”

Ryan Garcia bounces back with eighth-round KO of Oscar Duarte

Ryan Garcia bounced back from his seventh-round knockout loss against Gervonta Davis by stopping Oscar Duarte in the eighth Saturday.

Everything is OK with Ryan Garcia in the ring.

The 140-pound contender looked a lot like the Garcia of old Saturday night at Toyota Center in Houston, where he knocked out Oscar Duarte late in the eighth round of a scheduled 12-rounder.

It was exactly the type of performance the social media star needed in light of recent events.

Let’s start with this past April, when he suffered the first loss of his career against Gervonta Davis. And it wasn’t pretty. “Tank” ended the fight with a single body shot.

He later moved on from trainer Joe Goossen and his hometown of Los Angeles, moving to Dallas to work with Derrick James.

Then came the latest episode in ongoing drama related to his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, only two days before the fight. Garcia said at a news conference that his handlers were backing Duarte.

Bad loss. New trainer, Sour relationship with your promoter. Everyone wondered what Garcia would bring to the ring.

Well, he fought like the man who brutally knocked out Luke Campbell and Javier Fortuna in pre-Gervonta Davis fights to earn the respect of the boxing world.

Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) used his impressive combination of stick-and-move boxing ability and punching power to control the fight against Duarte, a tough, hard-punching Mexican with limited skills.

“King Ry” used his jab as a range finder and followed with quick, mostly single power shots – including some nasty uppercuts – that often found the head of Duarte while continually moving around the ring, which generally frustrated the underdog.

Duarte had some success in Rounds 5 and 6, when Garcia became more stationery and got trapped against the ropes a few times. However, Garcia got back to moving in Round 7 and Duarte could get nothing done.

Duarte had demonstrated that he has a durable chin, taking many hard punches well leading into Round 8. However, a left hook to his temple with about 30 seconds remaining in the round finally hurt him.

Garcia followed with a flurry of punches that forced Duarte to take a knee, where he tried to recover. And while he popped up around 9.5 seconds into the 10 count, referee James Green stopped the fight.

“I have a killer instinct,” Garcia said afterward. “… It was pretty basic technically. I just step back, he reaches, I catch him with a counter left hook.”

And, he said, the victory was only his first step in a fresh start.

He expressed his gratitude to James, who obviously had his new fighter in good form for the fight. James also works with Jermell Charlo, Errol Spence Jr. and Anthony Joshua in Dallas.

“Shout out to Derrick James,” Garcia said. “We worked hard. This was our first fight together. We’ll build off of this and get better. I’m committed to becoming a world champion.”

Garcia is an attractive opponent for anyone because of his massive following, which generates a great deal of money.

And now, with an impressive victory under his belt and the setback against Davis farther in the past, he’s in a good position to face one of the top fighters in the deep junior welterweight division.

He called out Rolando Romero, the WBA titleholder. “If Rolly wants that, bring it on,” he said. “I know you’ve been talking a lot. Bring it on.”

However, he doesn’t want to look too far into the future.

“Yeah, let’s keep building and then go after Devin Haney and all the other dudes,” he said. “We got to take our steps, building with Derrick James – it was our first fight – and then go from there.”

Ryan Garcia bounces back with eighth-round KO of Oscar Duarte

Ryan Garcia bounced back from his seventh-round knockout loss against Gervonta Davis by stopping Oscar Duarte in the eighth Saturday.

Everything is OK with Ryan Garcia in the ring.

The 140-pound contender looked a lot like the Garcia of old Saturday night at Toyota Center in Houston, where he knocked out Oscar Duarte late in the eighth round of a scheduled 12-rounder.

It was exactly the type of performance the social media star needed in light of recent events.

Let’s start with this past April, when he suffered the first loss of his career against Gervonta Davis. And it wasn’t pretty. “Tank” ended the fight with a single body shot.

He later moved on from trainer Joe Goossen and his hometown of Los Angeles, moving to Dallas to work with Derrick James.

Then came the latest episode in ongoing drama related to his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, only two days before the fight. Garcia said at a news conference that his handlers were backing Duarte.

Bad loss. New trainer, Sour relationship with your promoter. Everyone wondered what Garcia would bring to the ring.

Well, he fought like the man who brutally knocked out Luke Campbell and Javier Fortuna in pre-Gervonta Davis fights to earn the respect of the boxing world.

Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) used his impressive combination of stick-and-move boxing ability and punching power to control the fight against Duarte, a tough, hard-punching Mexican with limited skills.

“King Ry” used his jab as a range finder and followed with quick, mostly single power shots – including some nasty uppercuts – that often found the head of Duarte while continually moving around the ring, which generally frustrated the underdog.

Duarte had some success in Rounds 5 and 6, when Garcia became more stationery and got trapped against the ropes a few times. However, Garcia got back to moving in Round 7 and Duarte could get nothing done.

Duarte had demonstrated that he has a durable chin, taking many hard punches well leading into Round 8. However, a left hook to his temple with about 30 seconds remaining in the round finally hurt him.

Garcia followed with a flurry of punches that forced Duarte to take a knee, where he tried to recover. And while he popped up around 9.5 seconds into the 10 count, referee James Green stopped the fight.

“I have a killer instinct,” Garcia said afterward. “… It was pretty basic technically. I just step back, he reaches, I catch him with a counter left hook.”

And, he said, the victory was only his first step in a fresh start.

He expressed his gratitude to James, who obviously had his new fighter in good form for the fight. James also works with Jermell Charlo, Errol Spence Jr. and Anthony Joshua in Dallas.

“Shout out to Derrick James,” Garcia said. “We worked hard. This was our first fight together. We’ll build off of this and get better. I’m committed to becoming a world champion.”

Garcia is an attractive opponent for anyone because of his massive following, which generates a great deal of money.

And now, with an impressive victory under his belt and the setback against Davis farther in the past, he’s in a good position to face one of the top fighters in the deep junior welterweight division.

He called out Rolando Romero, the WBA titleholder. “If Rolly wants that, bring it on,” he said. “I know you’ve been talking a lot. Bring it on.”

However, he doesn’t want to look too far into the future.

“Yeah, let’s keep building and then go after Devin Haney and all the other dudes,” he said. “We got to take our steps, building with Derrick James – it was our first fight – and then go from there.”

Ryan Garcia bounces back with eighth-round KO of Oscar Duarte

Ryan Garcia bounced back from his seventh-round knockout loss against Gervonta Davis by stopping Oscar Duarte in the eighth Saturday.

Everything is OK with Ryan Garcia in the ring.

The 140-pound contender looked a lot like the Garcia of old Saturday night at Toyota Center in Houston, where he knocked out Oscar Duarte late in the eighth round of a scheduled 12-rounder.

It was exactly the type of performance the social media star needed in light of recent events.

Let’s start with this past April, when he suffered the first loss of his career against Gervonta Davis. And it wasn’t pretty. “Tank” ended the fight with a single body shot.

He later moved on from trainer Joe Goossen and his hometown of Los Angeles, moving to Dallas to work with Derrick James.

Then came the latest episode in ongoing drama related to his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, only two days before the fight. Garcia said at a news conference that his handlers were backing Duarte.

Bad loss. New trainer, Sour relationship with your promoter. Everyone wondered what Garcia would bring to the ring.

Well, he fought like the man who brutally knocked out Luke Campbell and Javier Fortuna in pre-Gervonta Davis fights to earn the respect of the boxing world.

Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) used his impressive combination of stick-and-move boxing ability and punching power to control the fight against Duarte, a tough, hard-punching Mexican with limited skills.

“King Ry” used his jab as a range finder and followed with quick, mostly single power shots – including some nasty uppercuts – that often found the head of Duarte while continually moving around the ring, which generally frustrated the underdog.

Duarte had some success in Rounds 5 and 6, when Garcia became more stationery and got trapped against the ropes a few times. However, Garcia got back to moving in Round 7 and Duarte could get nothing done.

Duarte had demonstrated that he has a durable chin, taking many hard punches well leading into Round 8. However, a left hook to his temple with about 30 seconds remaining in the round finally hurt him.

Garcia followed with a flurry of punches that forced Duarte to take a knee, where he tried to recover. And while he popped up around 9.5 seconds into the 10 count, referee James Green stopped the fight.

“I have a killer instinct,” Garcia said afterward. “… It was pretty basic technically. I just step back, he reaches, I catch him with a counter left hook.”

And, he said, the victory was only his first step in a fresh start.

He expressed his gratitude to James, who obviously had his new fighter in good form for the fight. James also works with Jermell Charlo, Errol Spence Jr. and Anthony Joshua in Dallas.

“Shout out to Derrick James,” Garcia said. “We worked hard. This was our first fight together. We’ll build off of this and get better. I’m committed to becoming a world champion.”

Garcia is an attractive opponent for anyone because of his massive following, which generates a great deal of money.

And now, with an impressive victory under his belt and the setback against Davis farther in the past, he’s in a good position to face one of the top fighters in the deep junior welterweight division.

He called out Rolando Romero, the WBA titleholder. “If Rolly wants that, bring it on,” he said. “I know you’ve been talking a lot. Bring it on.”

However, he doesn’t want to look too far into the future.

“Yeah, let’s keep building and then go after Devin Haney and all the other dudes,” he said. “We got to take our steps, building with Derrick James – it was our first fight – and then go from there.”

Ryan Garcia vs. Oscar Duarte: LIVE updates, official results, full coverage

Ryan Garcia vs. Oscar Duarte: LIVE updates, official results, full coverage.

Junior welterweight contender Ryan Garcia stopped Oscar Duarte late in the eighth round on Saturday at Toyota Center in Houston.

The key blow was a left hook that rocked Duarte with about 30 seconds left in the round. Garcia followed with a flurry that put Duarte down. And the Mexican failed to beat the count.

The official time of the stoppage was 2:51 of Round 8.

Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) controlled the fight by jabbing, sticking and moving, landing mostly single power shots and then moving out of harm’s way to avoid taking much in return.

Duarte (26-2-1, 21 KOs) was at his most effective in Rounds 5 and 6, when he pressured a more stationery Garcia and trapped him against the ropes a few times.

However, Garcia got back to moving after that, which frustrated the hard-charging Mexican.

Duarte had demonstrated repeatedly that he could take Garcia’s power punches … until he couldn’t. The left hook landed on his temple, buckled his legs and left him helpless.

Garcia was coming off his first loss, a seventh-round knockout against Gervonta Davis in April.

A full report will follow shortly.

***

Ryan Garcia is scheduled to face Oscar Duarte tonight (Saturday) at Toyota Center in Houston (DAZN).

It will be 140-pound contender’s first fight since he suffered a seventh-round knockout against Gervonta Davis at a 136-pound catch weight in one of the biggest fights of the year on April 22.

Duarte (26-1-1, 21 KOs) is a hard-punching Mexican who has never faced anyone at the level of Garcia (23-1, 19 KOs).

The featured portion of the show is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.

Boxing Junkie will post the result and a brief summary immediately after the fight ends. Simply return to this post and refresh when the time comes.

Full coverage – a detailed fight story, analysis and more – will follow on separate posts the night of the card and the following day.

Enjoy the fights!

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