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Stephen McKenna on Ryan Garcia: “I would have gotten Garcia out of there, if I had hurt him like that.” The Californian got off the canvas to stop Luke Campbell at the weekend
By Richard Damerell
Last Updated: 04/01/21 4:51 pm
Ryan Garcia overcame an early knockdown to defeat Luke Campbell
Stephen McKenna says he bothered Ryan Garcia at sparring even before he turned pro, and the Irish contender is confident he can topple the American star.
Garcia was knocked down for the first time in his career by Luke Campbell at the weekend, but the talented 22-year-old then got off the mat and stopped his British opponent with a body shot in the seventh round.
McKenna sparred with Garcia on a trip to Los Angeles in 2018, more than a year before his pro debut, and insists the Californian didn’t show many signs of his spiteful punches.
Campbell dropped Garcia in the second round
But Garcia produced an impressive response to stop the British fighter
“He never worked so hard on body shots,” McKenna said. Sky sports. “He was always trying that left hook and running to the ropes, but he never did a lot of body work or anything like that.
“At the time, I didn’t think he had any power. During our spar he did a lot of tap, tap, and he moved a lot. He was going from corner to corner.
“It looks like he was hitting hard now at the time, so he has worked on his power and strength. It looks like he has a good punch and he fought a good fight.
“When I first trained with Ryan, he was still a fan. He’d had 18 fights.
“Over the past year, I’ve been hitting harder and harder. I’m getting stronger every day in the gym. I’m working wild and I’ll be ready for Ryan Garcia when the time comes. I would fight him tomorrow, if I had the chance.”
The undefeated 23-year-old also trained alongside Campbell last year, an opportunity to study the Olympic gold medalist’s ring skills, and McKenna believes Garcia was lucky to avoid a stoppage loss.
“I don’t think Luke realized how hurt he really was,” McKenna said. “There was more than a minute left on the clock.
“If he had been an aggressive style fighter, another fighter would have taken him out of there, like Gervonta Davis or Teofimo Lopez. Luke is more of a distant fighter, it is not in his nature to be aggressive and show up.
“Garcia was seriously injured. If he had been there, he would have gotten Garcia out of there, if he had hurt him like that.”
McKenna extended his undefeated record to seven victories, all by knockout, with back-to-back bouts in December and hopes to push for a title fight next year.
“Two knockouts to keep the knockout streak going. I am very satisfied with the way my two fights went and I am happy to finish the year on top,” he said.
“Keep moving forward, hopefully you’ll get maybe six fights, and by the end of the year, I want to be in the top 15 of the world rankings.
“I’ll be ready for anyone or anything.”
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