Former world cruiserweight champion, Johnny Nelson, has slammed critics of Ryan Garcia after defeat to Gervonta Davis.
Davis handed ‘King’ Ryan this first defeat of his career recenly, bringing the clash to a premature end with a body shot in the seventh round.
Since the bout, fans have claimed that Garcia could have carried on. He took a knee and watched the referee count him out, and plenty in the sport have branded it ‘quitting.’
Nelson – who still holds the record as the longest reigning cruiserweight champion – told Boxing Social that those who have never been hit with a body shot have no place to question Garcia’s will to continue.
“Listen, I would prefer to get knocked out cold than get done with a body shot because you are still conscious, but your body is disabled. It’s easy for people who have never been hit with a body shot, to say he should have done this or he should have done that.
If you have ever been crippled to the point where you can’t move, you can’t breathe, you’re trying to style it out, thinking ‘let me just move my feet a bit and get a bit of air back in my lungs again, your lungs just quit on you.”
“When he went down, I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t see the shot initially and when I saw the shot, it was full-blooded, the body was in the shot and the left hook was in the shot, in the sweet spot. When someone is hit with a shot like that, unless you’ve been hit with it, you will never be able to comment on it.”
Since the contest, Ryan Garcia has split from trainer, Joe Goossen, and will now seek a new cornerman to aid him in his quest to win a super lightweight world title.