Ryan Garcia faces a tough time the longer he sticks it out in his current situation without resolution with Golden Boy Promotions.
That’s the view of many as the fighter registered his comeback victory over Oscar Duarte. However, others see the current feud as untenable.
Garcia, himself, seems to be one of them.
His actions and comments post-fight do not seem to be those of a boxer who is enjoying his current tenure.
“King Ry” still believes Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins were backing his opponent.
Ryan Garcia ‘is being played’
“A lot of people who supposedly were close to me were hoping I’d lose and tried their best to use every tactic to throw me off. But my mental [health] was protected, and I had that full armor of God on,” said Garcia.
One former world champion who sided with Garcia is ex-super-welterweight ruler Ishe Smith. The ex-Mayweather Promotions star has never discussed what went wrong in his own partnership with a boxing legend.
However, he did state that every promoter in the sport doesn’t have the best interests of those who put their lives on the line at heart.
“Let’s go, Ryan Garcia. I hate how Golden Boy be playing him,” said Smith ahead of the Duarte fight. After Garcia stopped his foe in eight rounds, Smith would get even more candid with his views.
“They all’ f you’ in this game. No promoter is for you,” he pointed out. “Once you realize that, you’ll accept the game for what it is.
“The object of the fighter is to find out who’s going to ‘f you’ with lube or who’s going to ‘f you’ raw.”
Promoter problems
Smith’s words would undoubtedly point to difficulties during his career as he scrambled to become the first-ever world champion born in Las Vegas.
Garcia is set on a path to a world title and has confirmed that’s his only focus now. It’s the one thing missing from his career.
Previously, Garcia had built up his following on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. He used that fanbase to become a massive seller in the sport of boxing.
But there have been no significant belts to speak of, which has to change for Ryan Garcia.
A world title shot should be the next step. Garcia has already called out Rolly Romero for a crack at the WBA super lightweight title in his possession.
Phil Jay is an experienced boxing news writer and has been the Editor of World Boxing News since 2010.
