Ryan Garcia

Ryan Garcia, born on August 8, 1998, in Victorville, California, was immersed in the world of boxing from an early age, trained by his father and uncle, both with boxing backgrounds. As an amateur, his passion fueling an impressive career that culminated in 215 wins against just 15 losses. After turning professional at age 17 in 2016, Garcia quickly made a name for himself, securing several victories and signing with Golden Boy Promotions. Under the tutelage of Eddy Reynoso, he honed his skills alongside boxing greats like Canelo Alvarez and Oscar Valdez. His hard-hitting style and speed earned him the WBC interim lightweight title in 2021, and he held rankings as the world’s fourth-best active lightweight by The Ring magazine, and the sixth-best active junior welterweight by ESPN​.

Garcia’s career is marked by several significant victories, notably over Romero Duno in 2019 for the WBC Silver lightweight title, and a first-round knockout against Francisco Fonseca in 2020. In January 2021, he faced and defeated Olympic gold medalist Luke Campbell, even after being knocked down for the first time in his professional career. Garcia’s resilience was on full display as he retaliated with a fight-ending body shot in the seventh round. He continued to defend his title in 2022 with a sixth-round knockout win against Javier Fortuna, and a unanimous decision victory over Emmanuel Tagoe​.

Despite a setback in 2023, where he was defeated by Gervonta “Tank” Davis, Garcia’s commitment to the sport remains intact. All in all, his journey, which is marked by many significant victories, continues to earn him the respect and admiration of fans all around the world.

The left hook is Ryan Garcia’s money punch. Most of his success with this punch comes from his ability to mix it with his jab. The defense for one punch creates an opening for the other, and with Garcia’s incredible hand speed, his opponents often find themselves defending in anticipation for one punch, only for the other to come. Garcia’s incredible ability to mix his left hook from high to low keeps his opponents guessing and off guard. Lower-level boxers will often give subtle hints as to whether they are shooting their punch high or low such as their eyes looking at their target, or dipping down to indicate a body shot. Garcia shoots his left hook to the head and body without these tells and it leads to him landing many devastating left hooks his opponents didn’t see coming.