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I cannot encourage nor practice deceit. Nor can I misrepresent through my writing, one of the fledgling practitioners within “Fistiana”, so to speak( and write).
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This very last Saturday, I witnessed – we all did – the most recent outing of young Mr Ryan Garcia. What I substantiated and can now cheerfully endorse, is a vastly improved prize fighter, one who has grown by quite a few bounds ever since he switched tutors this past month of February.
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While I bear no ill-will against… “Señor” Edison Omar Reynoso Sandoval (AKA “Eddy Reynoso), truth be told/written, ever since I first laid eyes and eardrums on him back in 2013, that I have found him to be an all altogether unpleasant “chummy”. Mostly due to what I perceived(correctly, or not) as an extreme arrogance and lack of sophistication. I do not write with heaviness of heart, but rather because it’s how I heeded him. As a naive, crude and partially “backward” sort of fellow.
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While he(and his “heralds”) waxed poetically where it concerned to his competence and expertness as a coach. I always grasped him as a “skipper” of “brutish” plodders with unsophisticated notions where it came to footwork and athleticism, although blame for the latter cannot be placed upon his doorstep.
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I had no inkling of what to expect when baby-faced and “beauteous” Ryan switched over to the “Captain” of the Ten Goose Boxing Gym. Although I knew that Joe Goossen had previously educated Garcia in the “manly art of self defense” when the previous toiled away in the unindemnified ranks. But, at this moment in time, I can gladly and with a full heart write, that I do not feel downhearted in the slightest over the “about-face”.
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Ever since the “volte-face”, I have “authenticated” two of Garcia’s “executions”: versus Emmanuel Tagoe on April 9th and vs Javier Fortuna less than 4 days ago. Conspicuously enough, in the bout before these last two “fistic roundabouts”, on January 2nd 2021 vs Britain’s Luke Campbell, Garcia had weighed in at 135. But ever since the “conversion” to Ten Goose, Garcia “measured” in at 138,8 pounds, and last Friday he “clocked” in at a full 140 pounds.
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What first struck me last February, was that Ryan, despite the additional 3 or 4 pounds, looked more conditioned than he ever did before, despite Reynoso’s(a fairly “paunchy” kind of “drill-sergeant“) reputation for being a stickler for dieting and discipline, truth be told, Ryan exhibited greater muscle definition recently than he ever did before.
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Even though I might give him “grief” regarding the alteration to Junior-Welterweight, it must be said and written, that the supplementary 5 pounds do not seem to have hindered him in the slightest. No, none whatsoever.
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If I were(and I am) to identify what makes Ryan stand out, chiefly I would single out his uncommon athleticism, his reflexes, his outstanding hand speed. Then, I would “address” his more than respectable punching power. And lastly, I would have to pin-point(“pun intended”) his arresting head-homing and rib cage-homing accuracy. And now, there is a new “wrinkle” to his armoury, the aforementioned physical conditioning.
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With reference to his power, Mr Goosen said that the endowed punchers he’s ever dealt with were: David Tua, Lance “Mount” Whitaker and now Ryan Garcia. Candidly, I find that burdensome to believe. After all, Tua was a murderous puncher and a heavyweight, Whitaker was gigantic. Are we to accept that a puffed up “Lightweight” is 3rd on that list? I do think Ryagn can crack adequatly, but am I of the assessment, that what separates him from the rest of the pack, is how he combines speed, power and accuracy.
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Do I rate him as hard a puncher as the “thudding” Gervonta Davis? No, I do not! And it should be said(written), that for my “solatium”, I still rate Ryan as a natural 135 pounder, and Gervonta as a legitimate 130 pounder. Yet, they might very well have an approaching “rendez-vous” at 140 pounds.
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Ryan has fought at Super-Lightweight on one occasion, and so has Mr Davis. Some might assert that Davis’s sole triumph at 140, as against a “paper champion” like Mario Barrios. But, keep in mind, that Davis battling two weight classes above his own, KOed Barrios in 11 rounds, while the (supposedly)vaunted puncher Keith Thurman welcomed Mr Barrios to 147 pounds this previous February, and for the life – and power – of him, he could nor render “El Azteca” unconscious.
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In all likelihood, due to his ever-expanding popularity and profit-making “clout”, Ryan now considers him a “shot caller” in the Lightweight neighbourhood, an “A-sider”, somebody that can dictate terms to other combatants (Champions, no less…). And because of this, he has now “imposed”, that henceforth, he shall campaign solely at Super-Lightweight. In all candour, I do not consider him to have arrived at such a “troposphere” just yet.
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Garcia and his “handlers”(De La Hoya and his “crew”) are enthusiastically beating the drums for a showdown with Gervonta Davis come December next. Forthrightly I find that to be a fantasious confrontation inside the present calendar year.
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I do not know(and likely, neither does he) if Ryan is ready for Gervonta(or the likes of him), therefore, a bit more maturing, training and “marinating” might be in order. Once the “hoopla”, hype and “clout chasing” has weathered away, I firmly presuppose that his next expedition inside the ropes is more likely to happen versus one Joseph “Jojo” Diaz.
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And neither should the fighter be low-spirited, nor his admirers be crestfallen, for it’s a next logical and “smart” progression towards the division’s upper echelons. I’ve heard Garcia mention Teófimo López’s name, but that would seem an overly audacious assignment, for we are speaking of the man that defeated (a one-winged) Lomachenko, who in my estimation, is still the finest technician in the sport, and possibly the game’s finest professional since Floyd Mayweather‘s heyday, back in 2005 vs one Arturo Gatti.
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I also feel that I must commend Ryan and Goldenboy Promotions, for participating in two fights a mere 90 days apart. I’ve long clung to the notion that the biggest “cancer” in “modern” Boxing is inactivity. Pugging away only twofold a year is simply not good enough: not for the public, not for the journalists, and assuredly, not for the development of the fighters themselves, especially when they are inexperienced and brimming with wonderful potential.
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I’m confident that Garcia’s most recent triumph has left his supporters (mostly “girlies”, or so it would appear) on cloud 9. And it is in Boxing’s interest to “create” new young popular stars and money-spinners. But I do worry about young tenderfooted Ryan. Concretely, I am concerned with his mental health. Much has been said and written as it regards his bouts with anxiety and maybe even depression.
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Aside from the aforewritten nervous comportments, I observe in him, not a joviality, but rather, what I rate as some kind of hyperactivity that makes him… “effervescent” (and maybe, partially because of this, “empty-headed” young ladies empathize with him…), speaks fast, communicates rapidly, switch subjects… “fiercely” (pun intended), and so forth. I do wonder whether or not he’ll self-destruct, or just not be grounded enough to properly gauge his limitations at this stage of his evolution.
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I do not know if we’ll ever get Garcia vs Devin Haney, likely at 140. In all honesty, I’m not a fan of Haney’s unpalatable style, as it is my impression that he often seems to “grapple” more than he “pummels”. Regardless, I’d love to see that matchup 3 fights down the road. Yes, we should all be so lucky, for we do so love “it”!
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Wallack’s Point,
Wednesday, July 20th, 2022,
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Text: Ronald William Miller.
Image: Ryan Garcia’s Instagram / All rights reserved.
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