Ryan Garcia connected with his fans through social media, where he shared some of his thoughts on his upcoming fight against Oscar Duarte and his first career loss to Gervonta Davis earlier this year in April. During his Instagram Live session, Ryan Garcia expressed his opinion that he would perform better if he fought at the right weight, presumably at 140 lbs, where he will face Oscar Duarte on December 2nd.
On April 22nd, Ryan Garcia (23-1, 19 KO’s) suffered a stoppage loss to Gervonta Davis (29-0, 27 KO’s) after a well-timed body shot by Davis. The two American rivals had fought at lightweight, with Davis defending his WBA ‘regular’ lightweight title at the time. Although Garcia had spent most of his career at lightweight, his two previous fights took place at 140 lbs, and according to him, he was forced to move down to 135 lbs and make concessions for the Davis fight.
During the post-match press conference on April 22nd, Ryan Garcia expressed his belief that he would have performed better at super lightweight.
“I did what I had to do in the ring, but I’ll feel much stronger at 140 lbs,” Garcia said during the press conference. “I’m gonna go up and fight the top fighters at 140 lbs.“
Ryan Garcia is now scheduled to fight Oscar Duarte (26-1-1, 21 KO’s) on December 2nd. Duarte, who has recently competed at lightweight, will be moving up in weight, creating a somewhat ironic reversal of the situation Garcia faced when he had to move down to fight Gervonta Davis.
During a recent Instagram Live stream, Garcia expanded on the belief that he would perform better against Davis if a rematch were to happen at 140 lbs.
“One of my goals after experiencing my first loss is to run that back,” Garcia said.
“I feel like under different circumstances, I’ll be able to perform much better, much more aware, and alert next time around,” Garcia added, likely referring to fighting at a more comfortable weight.
“But again, I’m going to make sure it’s undeniable. I’m going to build this up like crazy; I’m going to create a lot of hype, and we’re going to run it back. We have to run it back. That’s what I want in the future.“
According to his recent statements, Ryan Garcia seems fully committed to a rematch with Gervonta Davis in the upcoming year of 2024 (or beyond) following his match against Oscar Duarte.
The Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, will host Garcia’s comeback against Oscar Duarte, and his performance in this upcoming match will likely influence the potential for a rematch with Gervonta Davis. However, Garcia must first secure a victory against fellow American Duarte, known for his powerful punches at lightweight, similar to Garcia himself. Duarte has the tools to disrupt Garcia’s plans for a Davis rematch in the near future.
