De La Hoya: Garcia Doesn’t Have Perfect Fighter Mold, But He Could Be Even More Special Than Me

No fighter is ever a finished product, especially at the tender age of 22.

The boxing public realizes that Ryan Garcia is still a work in progress.

Garcia’s (20-0, 17 KOs) potential is a promising one, and he further wants to prove that with a win over Luke Campbell (20-3, 16 KOs) on Saturday at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas on DAZN.

Garcia’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya believes his star pupil will live up to — and exceed — massive expectations once he trounces the two-time title challenger Campbell.

“I knew from the beginning that he had something special. His social media presence is one thing, his abilities inside the ring are almost flawless,” De La Hoya told BoxingScene.com in an interview. “He’s not the perfect mold of a fighter —  he’s not a typical Salvador Sánchez or Oscar De La Hoya. I believe he’s even more special. We haven’t seen the best of Ryan Garcia. I believe this fight against Campbell will bring out of him.”

Garcia is coming off consecutive first-round KOs over Romero Duno and Francisco Fonseca. The fights have lasted a total of 178 seconds. It’s believed the crafty lefty Campbell will use his veteran savvy and test the somewhat-still green Garcia.

Garcia has been cruising comfortably in fights since joining forces with Eddy Reynoso. He is 4-0 with 4 KOs since 2018, and the quartet of fights have lasted a total of just nine rounds.

At the very least, the durable Campbell, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist, is supposed to last longer than Garcia’s previous middling opposition.

“As a promoter and ex-fighter, I know exactly what fights Ryan needs. This is a dangerous fight. This is a bold move, on our part, and for Ryan taking this fight,” said De La Hoya. “These are the kinds of fights that make you great and breakthrough. This is the beginning for Ryan Garcia. If he beats Campbell, the sky will be the limit for him. Jan. 2 will be his coming-out party.”

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com