Garcia makes quick work of Duno
In the co-main event Saturday night to Canelo-Kovalev, we waited for 1:38 of the first round for Ryan Garcia to take out Romero Duno in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The bout airing in the United States on the streaming platform DAZN is one that originally could’ve been slated on during Mexican Independence Day weekend. Garcia could’ve faced Duno then, on short notice, when original fighter Avery Sparrow was arrested by U.S. Marshalls before he could make it to the weigh-in for it.
Garcia decided instead to sit that card out to train more for this one.
First. Round. KO. ?#CaneloKovalev pic.twitter.com/56mkPn50hl
— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) November 3, 2019
Once the opening bell rang, one will argue he may not have needed it as the 21-year-old prospect Garcia knocked down Duno with a nice right hand to the temple. That shot Duno fell to the seat of his trunks and was in bad shape trying to make it to his feet.
The Filipino fighter attempted to get up, but referee Tony Weeks ended their fight into the first round when Duno came up wobbly.
How about THAT for a statement ?@KingRyanG | #CaneloKovalev pic.twitter.com/smJrqVii8i
— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) November 3, 2019
“I feel good,” Garcia told DAZN’s Chris Mannix after his knockout win. “It’s kind of what I expected like I said. But all respect to Duno. He came to fight. He came in shape. He caught me with that overhand right. You seen right on the chin, and I took it. And then, from there, I knew I could just keep taking ‘em and keep coming at him. So, when I took his best shot, I felt good. I was like, ‘All right, I got him.’ ”
This fight was a great showing for Garcia but interesting for him as this was a fight that was step up in competition for him. With the win, Garcia (19-0, 16 KOs), of Victorville, California, won the vacant WBC silver lightweight title. He also took the NABO 135-pound championship from Duno (21-2, 16 KOs).
Duno’s only previous loss was an eight-round, unanimous-decision defeat to Mikhail Alexeev (12-1, 4 KOs) in May 2016.
Marquis Johns is a unknown humorist and avid boxing fan. His love for the sweet science goes back to when matches were 15 rounds and has been covering fights since closed-circuit pay-per-views. Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth is not only a quote by Mike Tyson, it's also a pretty good reminder to keep your guard up.
