After Garcia’s recent fight I thought i’d have a look at who he can realistically fight next and how likely that any of the fights are made. Ryan Garcia can become a real star in boxing if he can keep winning and especially if he can keep winning impressively like he did versus Luke Campbell.
The first fighter he could realistically fight is Alberto Machado (22-2) who is a former WBA 130 pound champion. He’s recently moved up to Lightweight after losing twice to Andrew Cancio by knockout. While not a lot of people would have heard of him I think the fight makes a lot of sense as both Machado and Garcia are signed to Golden Boy promotions so the fight wouldn’t be hard to make. Machado is a big puncher who has proved to be vulnerable which would make the match up fun to watch and keep the hype that Garcia has going as he’ll likely get a knockout after an exciting back and forth fight. Machado is also Puerto Rican which in boxing means a lot as Puerto Rican fans are a large market in the sport and have proven time and time again they’ll come out for their fighters, at the age of 22 it would be good for Garcia to get their attention.
The second realistic fight is Rolando Romero who is currently 12-0. This fight has some background to it as they have sparred together and the footage is online. Romero is a big talker so the lead up would be entertaining and make it a big event. While Romero has a fight already scheduled this month it’s not one he should struggle or even lose in so I imagine he’d jump at the chance to fight Garcia later this year. I don’t think the fight will be all that competitive as Romero isn’t all that good compared to Garcia but it would be entertaining while it lasted.
The third realistic fight is Gervonta Davis (24-0). They’ve been going back and forth calling each other out for a while now and with how popular they both are this has become one of the biggest fights in the sport. Compared to other fights this one isn’t as realistic as its likely they’ll marinate the fight for another year or so while Garcia gets more experience and Gervonta fights people such as Gary Russell Jr. I’d back Gervonta Davis in this fight but everything could change in a year or two.
The fourth realistic fighter that Garcia could fight is Devin Haney (25-0). Both of these fighters are on the same network and Garcia just won a final eliminator for Haney’s WBC world title so the fight should be easy to make. I personally think its unlikely this fight happens next as Haney is a big risk without the massive reward that Gervonta is so I doubt Garcia just jumps into this fight immediately. Haney is in a bad situation right now where he can’t seem to get anyone to fight him as he’s not the biggest name and people can dismiss his title as being fake because of the franchise nonsense that has gone on recently.
The fifth fighter that Ryan Garcia could fight next is Jorge Linares (47-5). Linares is a great offensive fighter and some of his combinations are stunning however similar to a lot of past offensive minded fighters he is also very vulnerable as has been shown by all his losses being by knockout. I think this is almost a perfect fight for Garcia as Linares is vulnerable so won’t be hard to knock out but is also so gifted offensively that the fight should be a shootout until one of them is stretched out on the canvas. I think this will make the fight very entertaining and for Garcia this is all that matters if he wants to keep rising as a star. It’s a very winnable fight for him as well as I think he possesses the better chin and certainly has better recuperative abilities so in a four round shootout should be able to come out on top.
The lightweight division has a lot of talent and big names right now with the potential to become an era to remember. Hopefully we see Haney, Gervonta, Garcia and Teofimo Lopez mix it up like the four kings of old did.
Boxing Fulcrum 