Ryan Garcia has proven to be worthy of publicity.
Garcia survived an early knockout to win a stunning victory in the seventh technical knockout against Luke Campbell on Saturday night.
In front of about 6,000 fans at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Garcia won the WBC light middleweight title with a left hook on his body that sent Campbell to his knees. Campbell tried to get to his feet by the end of the count, but referee Laurence Cole signed the fight to give Garcia the TKO victory.
For most of his career, Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs), 22, was known for a social network that overshadowed his credentials. With the victory, he said he showed that it is more than a sensation on the internet.
“You’re not who people told you to be [you] are, “Garcia said in his post-fight interview on DAZN.” You are who you choose to be. And I chose to be champion tonight. I wasn’t going to let anything stop me. “
Campbell (20-4, 16 KOs), former title contender and 2012 Olympic gold medalist, was considered the toughest test of Garcia’s young career, and the Briton lived up to his promise.
In the second round, Campbell left Garcia with a left hook, which caught his chin. Garcia said it was the first time he had been shot down in his career.
“I think I’m a little excited right now,” said Garcia, who was wearing a ring on a throne while wearing a gold crown.
But “King Ry” responded in the third round, regaining his position and almost ending the fight in the fifth. Garcia hit Campbell with a left hook on the bell that sent Campbell swaying in ropes. Two rounds later, Garcia made the most significant gain of his career.
Campbell has never been stopped in his professional career, even in the title fights against Vasiliy Lomachenko and Jorge Linares. Garcia and Campbell both remarked that after Saturday’s fight.
“It was the hardest blow I’ve ever been hit with,” Campbell said. “I tried and tried to get up, but I couldn’t. I felt him coming and I came back, and when you move back, my body relaxed a little bit and that’s exactly when it hit me.”
Garcia added: “I showed today that I am special.”
Campbell agreed, saying about Garcia in a tweet afterwards: “Well done and great 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 four 135-pound belts when he defeated Lomachenko in October 2019. 22-year-old Devin Haney holds the WBC top belt.
But fighter Garcia said he wants the most is Gervonta “Tank” Davis, 26, who holds one of the WBA’s side belts and has 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. “