Ryan Garcia is confident he can handle the business against Isaac Cruz: “I’ve seen that style a million times”
By: Hans Themistode
Ryan Garcia is gearing up to make 2021 his breakout year. On New Year’s Day, the 23-year-old proved he was more than just a flashy boxer by lifting himself off the ring in front of Luke Campbell to score a seventh inning goal.
From there, the boxing world came his rage. But, despite agreeing to take on former multi-category Javier Fortuna that summer, Garcia was forced to withdraw from their competition due to mental health issues. Upon his return, Garcia had to confront Joseph Diaz. But, unfortunately for Garcia, the blows kept coming as he was left with no choice but to withdraw from the competition with Diaz due to surgery on his right wrist.
With everything going well at the doctor’s office, the former temporarily underweight star is getting closer and closer to making a comeback in the first quarter of the new year. Although Garcia was forced to watch his 135-pound teammate from the sidelines, the California-born had an ideal opponent for his return to the ring. That said, even Garcia admits, it’s not likely to happen.
“I want to leave soon [George] Kambosos,” Garcia told World Boxing News. “I told my team that I wanted to get in right away and get him because I might as well go and get all the belts back. But it won’t happen. “
Kambosos Jr., 28, is about to have one of the most shocking messes of the year. On November 27, at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater, the Australian-born Australian entered Teofimo Lopez’s backyard as a sizable henchman. Despite the long odds, Kambosos Jr will strip Lopez of his WBA, WBO, IBF and WBC titles through a split decision.
In a perfect world, the unified champion wouldn’t be the first fighter Garcia would face in more than a year out of the ring. However, with that contest failing to materialize, Garcia had other ideas.
A week after witnessing Kambosos Jr. overcome with great sadness, Garcia watched closely as he believed that another event should also occur. On December 5, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, Gervonta Davis is expected to have an easy match against rough and tough opponent Isaac Cruz. Despite that view, however, Cruz gave Davis everything he could handle, before losing a highly competitive unanimous decision.
Given the amount of praise Cruz has received for his efforts, Garcia thinks the Mexican product could present him with an ideal opportunity.
“A lot of people appreciate this guy [Cruz] right now because he’s a good teamfight for Tank. I just thought it was a good game for me to be back in the ring after such a long layoff.”
More than anything, the confrontation with Cruz is appealing to Garcia on many levels. First, after a disappointing 2021, a win over Cruz will allow Garcia to regain the luster that has lost his once bright star.
More importantly, when 23-year-old Garcia analyzed who his next opponent was, he couldn’t believe what would happen if their two styles clashed in the ring.
Garcia said of Cruz: “It’s not a guy just an easy fight. “He will present some challenges to me, but I know I will be able to take advantage of all my advantages and everything that he brings to the game. It’s perfect for me. I’ve seen that style a million times. There were a lot of people saying that Cruz would beat me. We are looking forward to that fight.”
