Ryan Garcia proved to be worthy of the hype.
Garcia survived an early elimination to secure an impressive seventh-round technical win by qualifier against Luke Campbell on Saturday night.
In front of approximately 6,000 fans at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Garcia won the WBC lightweight provisional title with a left hook on his body that made Campbell kneel. Campbell tried to get to his feet at the end of the count, but referee Laurence Cole stirred the fight to give Garcia the TKO victory.
For most of his career, Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs), 22, has been known for social media tracking that has overshadowed his credentials. With the win, he said it proved to be more than a sensation on the internet.
“You’re not who people tell you to be [you] they are, “Garcia said in his post-fight interview with DAZN.” You are the one who chooses to be. And I chose to be champion tonight. I didn’t want to let anything stop me. “
Campbell (20-4, 16 KOs), a 2012 title and Olympic gold medalist, was considered the toughest test of Garcia’s young career, and the British boxer lived up to it.
In the second round, Campbell dropped Garcia with a left hook that caught him in the chin. Garcia said it was the first time he was knocked down in his career.
“I think I got a little too excited about the moment,” said Garcia, who was carried to the ring sitting on a throne while wearing a gold crown.
But “King Ry” responded in the third round, regaining his lead and almost finishing the fight in the fifth. Garcia hit Campbell with a left hook on the bell that sent Campbell staggering to the ropes. Two rounds later, Garcia got the most significant victory of his career.
Campbell had never been arrested in his professional career, even in title fights against Vasiliy Lomachenko and Jorge Linares. Garcia and Campbell noted that after Saturday’s fight.
“That was the hardest shot that hit me,” Campbell said. “I tried to get up, but I couldn’t. I heard him coming, and he was coming back, and when you step back, my body relaxed a little bit and it’s the exact moment he hit me.”
Garcia added: “Today I have shown that I am special.”
Campbell agreed with that, saying about Garcia in a tweet later: “Well done and a huge future for him. I wish him all the best.”
Garcia joined the ranks of young and promising fighters in the light division. Teofimo Lopez, 23, won three of the 135 belts in the 135-pound division when he beat Lomachenko in October 2019. Devin Haney, 22, wears the WBC top belt.
But wrestler Garcia said he wants more than 26-year-old Gervonta “Tank” Davis, who wears one of the WBA’s side belts and gets an impressive knockout victory over Leo Santa Cruz in October.
“I really want to be a man of my word,” Garcia said. “I really want to fight Tank. I know people are worried about that [happening], but I’m ready for that. “