Ryan Garcia proved he deserves hype.
Garcia escaped an early knockdown to win a stunning, seventh-round, technical knockout on Luke Campbell on Saturday night.
In front of nearly 6,000 fans at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Garcia won the interim WBC lightweight title with the left hook of the body that sent Campbell to his knees. Campbell tried to get on his feet by the end of the count, but referee Lure Rance Cole Garcia led the fight to give TKO the win.
For most of his career, Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs), 22, has been known on social media for surpassing his ring credentials. With the victory, he said he showed that it is more than an internet sensation.
“People tell you that you are not [you] Is, “Garcia said in his postfight interview on DAZN.” You are who you are. And I have chosen to be the champion tonight. I’m not going to stop anything. “
Former title challenger and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Campbell (20-4, 16 KOs) was hailed as the toughest test of Garcia’s youth career, and the British box was living it up.
In the second round, Campbell dropped Garcia down with a looping left hook, which caught him on the chin. Garcia said it was the first time in his career he had been knocked down.
“I feel like I’m a little excited at the moment,” said Gracia, sitting on a throne with a golden crown.
But “King Roy” reacted in the third round, regained his bearings and almost finished the fight in the fifth. Garcia hit Campbell with the left hook on the bell which sent Campbell sitting on the rope. After two rounds, Garcia picked the most notable win of his career.
Campbell was never stopped in his pro career even in the title fight against Vasily Lomachenko and Jorge Linares. Both Garcia and Campbell have noted that after Saturday’s clash.
“It was such a tough shot that I was never impressed,” Campbell said. “I tried and tried to get up, but I couldn’t come. I felt like he was coming forward, and I was coming back, and when you were back my body became a little lighter, and at the same time that He hit me. “
Garcia added, “I showed today that I am special.”
Campbell then agreed with Garcia in a tweet, saying, “Good for him and a great future. I wish him well.”
Garcia joined the ranks of young, promising fighters in the lightweight division. Teofimo Lopez, 23, won three of the four belts in the 135-pound division when he defeated Lomachenko in October 2019. Devin Hayne, 22, holds the top spot in the WBC.
But fighter Garcia said what he wants most is Garvanta “Tank” Davis, 26, who owns one of the WBA’s secondary stripes and an impressive knockout victory over Leo Santa Cruz in October.
“I really want to be the man of my word,” Garcia said. “I really want to fight the tank. I know people are worried about it [happening], But I’m ready for it. “
.
