De La Hoya: Ryan Garcia Is Going To Be Ten Times Bigger Than Canelo

Ryan Garcia just picked up the biggest victory of his young career on Saturday, as he became the first man to stop Luke Campbell inside the distance, doing so in round seven.

This saw him claim the interim WBC lightweight championship, making him the mandatory challenger for undisputed WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney.

Many of us were wondering, is Garcia just an Instagram star, or can he really fight too? Though he was 20-0 coming into his bout with Campbell, Garcia had yet to face that real test, and when he did, he passed with flying colors.

Campbell had only lost a split decision to Yvan Mendy, which he avenged via unanimous decision, a split decision to Jorge Linares in a drag-em-out war that could went either way, and a unanimous decision to Vasyl Lomachenko.

Not only is Garcia the first man to finish Campbell, but he had to come back from being knocked down in round two. We noticed, Garcia’s not just a fighter when he’s doing well, like many. He will overcome adversity.

This isn’t what we expected Garcia to be per se, but it’s what we were hoping he’d be, and we were very pleased seeing he does have that dogfight in him.

Oscar De La Hoya has gone as far to say: “I strongly feel that Ryan is going to be ten times bigger than Canelo.”

Garcia also had the following to say after his bout with Campbell in his post-fight interview:

“You’re not who people tell you, (you) are. You’re who you choose to be. And I chose to be a champion tonight. I wasn’t going to let nothing stop me.

“I really want to be a man of my word. I really want to fight Tank. I know people are worried about it (happening), but I’m ready for it.”

While this would be an absolute epic encounter, Garcia should wait a little bit on this one. This 22-year-old superstar may, or may not be ready for this test.

There’s no need in potentially adding a 1 to the other side of his record just yet.

If Luke Campbell can drop Garcia, Gervonta Davis certainly could, and get the finish from it.

Why not attempt taking that undisputed strap from Devin Haney first, then have an undisputed champion versus undisputed champion clash?

That being said, he did just finish someone Vasyl Lomachenko took all 12 rounds. Maybe he is ready.

Who do you see Ryan Garcia facing next?