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Ryan Garcia has proven himself worthy of the hype.
Garcia survived an early knockdown to secure a stunning seventh round technical elimination victory over Luke Campbell on Saturday night.
In front of around 6,000 fans at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Garcia won the interim WBC lightweight title with a left hook to the body that sent Campbell to his knees. Campbell tried to get up 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 a social media follow that has eclipsed his in-ring credentials. With the win, he said he had shown he was more than an internet sensation.
“You are not what people tell you [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), a former title challenger and 2012 Olympic gold medalist, was billed as the toughest test of Garcia’s young career, and the British boxer lived up to it.
In the second round, Campbell let Garcia down with a looping left hook that caught him in the chin. Garcia said it was the first time he was bowled over in his career.
“I think I was a little too excited at the time,” said Garcia, who was brought to the ring seated on a throne while wearing a golden crown.
But “King Ry” responded in the third round, picking up his bearings and almost ending the fight in the fifth. Garcia hit Campbell with a left hook on the bell which sent Campbell reeling into the ropes. Two laps later, Garcia won the most important victory of his career.
Campbell had never been stopped in his professional career, even in the title fights against Vasiliy Lomachenko and Jorge Linares. Garcia and Campbell both noted this after Saturday’s fight.
“It was the hardest blow I have ever received,” said Campbell. “I tried and tried to get up, but I couldn’t. I felt it coming, and I was pulling back, and when you pull back, my body relaxed a little bit, and that’s when it hit me.
Garcia added: “Today I showed that I am special.”
Campbell agreed with that, saying of Garcia in a tweet afterwards, “Well done and a great future for him. I wish him all the best.”
Garcia has joined the ranks of promising young fighters in the lightweight division. Teofimo Lopez, 23, won three of four belts in the 135-pound division when he beat Lomachenko in October 2019. Devin Haney, 22, holds the WBC top belt.
But fighter Garcia said he wanted the most is Gervonta “Tank” Davis, 26, who owns one of the WBA’s secondary belts and comes off 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 it [happening], but I’m ready for it. “
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