Ryan Garcia Career Highlights

The lightweight division is full of stars such as Devin Haney, Vasiliy Lomachenko, Shakur Stevenson and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis. Another superstar in the division is Ryan ‘KingRy’ Garcia. The 24-year-old has amassed a perfect fight record of 23-0, with 19 wins by knockout. The Californian-born fighter has impressed throughout his career, but with his biggest fight against Davis on April 22, Big Fight Weekend wanted to look at Garcia’s career highlights in the run up to this mouth-watering fight.

The Best Highlights of Ryan Garcia’s Career

Gervonta Davis vs Ryan Garcia official fight poster… pic.twitter.com/rA3VgM51DB

— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) March 30, 2023

Ryan Garcia’s Knockout of Javier Fortuna

Javier Fortuna was said to be the stiffest test of Garcia’s career. On July 16, 2022 “KingRy” passed this test with flying colours, knocking his opponent down three times, before the referee saved Fortuna from further punishment by waving off the contest in round six.

Also Read: Top 5 Ryan “KingRy” Garcia Knockouts

Garcia’s hand speed caught the eye, along with his impressive combinations. The spite in his punches also stood out and troubled Fortuna throughout. “KingRy” seemed to land left hooks with ease. The Dominican lightweight dragged himself off the canvas twice, but he was ultimately unable to withstand the power of Garcia. The ref eventually waved the contest off after the devastating left hook (third knockdown), forcing the official to end the fight.

Ryan Garcia Returning from Mental Health Troubles

In the ring, Garcia’s career has been plain sailing, with a slew of knockouts. However, his career was put on hold after he withdrew from a July 2021 bout against Fortuna. When asked at the time – regarding his withdrawal, he said he needed to “manage my health and wellbeing“. The victory over Luke Campbell in January of that year was not enough to ease the dark thoughts that had invaded Garcia. He opened up about his mental health battles during this time: “When I was deep in it, I didn’t think I was gonna live, I was so depressive, and I went to bad habits. I started drinking, and I never drink, ever. But I was getting drunk all the time. I wanted to kill myself at one point,” Garcia said in an interview with Dan Canobbio on Inside Boxing Live.

Also Read: 5 Underrated Lightweights to Watch Out for in 2023

The 24-year-old lightweight star eventually returned to the ring on April 9, 2022, when he won a unanimous points decision against Emmanuel Tagoe. “KingRy” scored a knockdown in round two on his way to a wide margin points win, with judges scores of 119-108, 119-108 and 118-109. Despite the bout against Fortuna being cancelled Garcia dismantled the experienced Dominican in their rescheduled clash, shortly after his win over Tagoe.

Ryan Garcia Beating Luke Campbell

The fight against Luke Campbell was described in many quarters as the toughest test to date for “KingRy”. He passed that test in a brilliant and brave fashion, by digging deep, despite his troubles outside the ring. The Californian lightweight knocked out Olympic gold medallist Campbell with a sickening body shot in the seventh round to cap off a back-and-forth contest in Dallas, which saw the Englishman inflict Garcia’s first knockdown of his career. Garcia’s hand speed prevented Campbell from ever letting his hands fully go, showing what a vital weapon his speed is. “KingRy” switched brilliantly between punches to the head and the body, and the devastating seventh-round body shot ended the fight.

Also Read: Davis vs Garcia Undercard Revealed

Garcia is a thrilling fighter to watch, with his lightening hand speed and impressive power. All attention now turns to April 22 and the titanic clash against Gervonta “Tank” Davis. The upcoming fight will undoubtedly be his toughest test, and he will need to make sure his head movement and footwork are on point to negate the punching power of “Tank”.