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Luke Campbell’s hopes of another world title shot took a severe blow when Ryan Garcia lifted off the canvas to land a terrific save in Dallas.
In a gripping lightweight fight, Britain’s Campbell landed a left hook in the second round to drop Mexican-American Garcia.
Some asked how the much publicized Garcia He could respond to adversity and as he battled emotion, he found answers.
Campbell survived a heavy attack in the fifth, but a well-placed body shot ended the contest two rounds later.
“You taught me a lot,” Garcia, 22, told Campbell, 33, as opponents hugged at the corner of the hit at the American Airlines Center.
The jubilant reaction from Garcia’s team, including his gym partner Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez, hinted at relief, but certainly underscored the statement they knew their man had made.
By beating a fighter of Campbell’s pedigree, and by getting off the mat to do so, this victory threw many responses about Garcia, whose social media following led him to be identified as the twelfth most commercial athlete in the world in October.
“I think I showed a lot of people who I really am. Today I showed that I am special,” he told DAZN.
“They wanted to show me as a fighter on social media. Anyone who belittles you, remember that you are not who people tell you who you are, you are who you choose to be. I chose to be champion tonight.
“He got me, I was like, ‘They let me fall, this is crazy.’ They never let me fall in my life. I had to adapt. I knew I could beat him, I just had to get back up.”
Garcia is the first man to beat Campbell by stoppage. Shortly after the fight, Campbell told Garcia in his dressing room that he hit harder than anyone he had ever faced. The 2012 London Olympic gold medalist told his Twitter followers that Garcia has a “huge future ahead of him.”
This stoppage win will add to the kind of hype that has led some US broadcasters to suggest that Garcia’s star status could bring new fans to the sport in the coming years.
The 1-3 bookmaker favorite was brought into the ring on a throne while Campbell waited in the ring in Texas.
But in two rounds, a strong left hook put Garcia on his back and it is his credit that he got up, took the fight to his rival and won the rounds afterward.
Garcia had only made it through the fourth round twice, and his last two bouts had lasted less than 180 seconds total. He carried an effervescence in his punches and a combination of left hook and right hand in the fifth rocked Campbell and sent him against the ropes as the bell rang.
In competition that ebbed and flowed, Campbell found some balance after a relentless attack from Garcia when action resumed early in the sixth.
But a round later, Campbell braced himself for a head attack only for Garcia to wonderfully drive a left hand to the body that left him on all fours.
Garcia’s team ran into the ring, lifted their man, and placed a crown on his head.
Her 21st win in as many fights could give her a shot at the world title next, or her preferred fight with American Gervonta Davis.
For now, he has justified the hype and underscored his threat. After the fourth loss of his career, Campbell will need to regroup if he wants to try to win a world title for the third time.
