Ryan Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) put up a performance to record a bounced-back victory over fellow Mexican slugger Oscar Duarte (26-2-1, 21 KOs) in an eighth-round technical knockout inside the Toyota Center in Houston.
The self styled ‘King Ryan’ had some kid words towards his nemesis on the night
“[Duarte] was a strong fighter. He took a good punch. He’s a Mexican fighter like me and he’s tough. I hit him with some hard shots but he just kept coming. I started using my legs, just as Derrick told me to between rounds, and it opened up the shots.”
When quizzed on the way forward, Ryan who tasted his first ever career defeat to Gervonta Davis said “Yeah, let’s keep building; then we can go after Devin Haney, all the other dudes, and Teofimo. We got to take our steps, build with Derrick James, my first fight and then we go from there.
However, he did called out Romero for a possible showdown in hIs fervent quest for a world title.
“I want Rolly, to be honest. I feel like it’s a fun fight. He’s aggressive, a crazy dude. The lead-up would be crazy. Yeah, I want that. He has a title technically; yeah, let’s do it. I don’t know if you have a real injury or not,” he expressed.