Oscar De La Hoya admitted that Ryan Garcia’s performance on Saturday was far from perfect but he was satisfied nonetheless.
The promoter for the converted boxer from the Hall of Fame awarded Garcia a “B, B+” for unanimous-decisive victory over the reluctant Emmanuel Tagoe Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio got Garcia 15 months off the job, the result of mental health concerns and a recent hand injury.
Garcia also got into a fight with new coach Joe Goossen for the first time in his corner.
“Considering the layoffs, broken arm, mental struggle he had to go through… I’m glad he got the experience he needed. It was an uphill battle. I give him a B, a B+,” De La Hoya told Boxing Junkie.
Ryan Garcia put pressure at the end of the 5th half#GarciaTagoe pic.twitter.com/hjaLzubgES
– DAZN boxing (@DAZNBoxing) April 10, 2022
Garcia (22-0, 18 KOs) has many of the qualities needed to become a superstar but his punching prowess could stand out, especially after he stopped Luke Campbell with a body shot in the previous match.
That’s why some might be disappointed that he couldn’t find a way to take down Tagoe, a good, experienced boxer who fought in survival mode.
De La Hoya was not among them, although he agreed with Garcia’s assessment that he could do a better job of removing the ring.
“Not at all,” he said. “I am very happy that he was able to go 12 rounds. The most important thing was that he organized it perfectly. The hand doesn’t bother him, mentally he’s in the fight. He is ready. You can imagine being that young (23) and going through the problems he faced and then having 15,000 people come to watch you fight.
“…There was a lot of pressure and he handled it brilliantly. He could have cracked at any moment but he didn’t.”
De La Hoya said that Goossen was also happy with Garcia’s performance.
“Joe is very pleased,” he said. “He told me he wanted Ryan, first of all, to get through the fight because you don’t know how he’s going to react after 15 months of being laid off. He said, “Now we can actually go to work, really get to know each other.”
“Now Joe will hit the gas and push Ryan to his limit.”
Against whom?
One name that keeps popping up is Gervonta Davis, the talented lightweight contender. De La Hoya liked the idea of pursuing that match for Garcia… but not in his next game.
He said he was targeting a top 5 candidate without saying who it might be. Garcia was scheduled to face former junior lightweight president Joseph Diaz Jr. in November before he withdrew due to a hand injury, which required surgery.
Garcia, who went on to lose to Devin Haney in December, was ranked 6th by the WBC and 9th by the WBA.
“We’ll go back to the drawing board,” De La Hoya said. “We would definitely pick a top 5, top 10 guy before picking Davis. Jo Jo Diaz is definitely on the list.”
Bottom line for De La Hoya: Whatever path Garcia takes, it will lead to great things.
“The sky is the limit,” he said. “… He is studying every day. He’s got a real pro with Joe Goossen who’s been there and done it. The fact that he’s tall (5 foot-10)… he can fight in many weight classes. I can see him as a…[division] champion. The sky is the limit. “
