He may have 7.4 million Instagram followers, but Ryan Garcia insists he is far more than a social media phenomenon.
The quicksilver Garcia (20-0, 17 KOs) faces the seasoned Luke Campbell for the WBC’s interim lightweight belt in Indio, California, on December 5, but has laughed off suggestions by the two-time world title challenger that he is a manufactured fighter.
Experience counts for little, if that involvement comes from defeat, says the 22-year-old Garcia, who is plotting another spectacular KO win.
“This will put me at the top of the lightweight division. I have to go through Campbell,” Garcia told Sky Sports. “He hasn’t fought anybody except [Vasiliy] Lomachenko [L12] and Jorge Linares [L12] and he lost those. If your experience is losing, I don’t want that experience. This is his ‘get to the top or not’ type of fight. Me? I’m still that young gun coming up.
“I keep hearing him say he’s going to knock me out! He’s not. He couldn’t even knock out a 126lbs Lomachenko. He’s not going to beat me. He’s talking a good game. But he’ll learn real quick that I hit harder than Lomachenko. This is his last chance but I’ll put the final nail in the coffin [of his career]. He fought Yvan Mendy, who I’ve never heard of, and he lost! So what experience does he have, really
“I train with the pound-for-pound champion [Canelo Alvarez]. He will learn real soon that I’m not there just to do Instagram videos. You’ll see how much I bring. I’m a true fighter, not an Instagram fighter. I may do all that [social media] because I can and I have the opportunity, but I feel disrespected big time as a fighter.
“I’m not here to play games. I’ll start throwing my punches and he’ll see. If I catch him clean, if he gets hurt, he’s out of there. There will be no escape. It’s over, the moment he gets hurt.”