Ryan Garcia is brimming with more confidence even in the wake of defeat. (photo by Ryan Hafey)
The goal has remained the same for the high-profile contender, who confirmed his plans to continue in the junior welterweight division. Garcia joined trainer Derrick James’ team to Las Vegas, where he will continue to train after Frank Martin’s most recent win and Errol Spence’s upcoming July 29 undisputed championship versus Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford.
The California native—who has relocated to Dallas to be with James as his new head trainer on a full-time basis—wants to add to the lofty credentials of his well-established stablemates. The fight at the top of his list is to challenge WBA 140-pound titlist Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero (15-1, 13KOs).
“I’m ready to get at it at 140,” Garcia told Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) host Ray Flores while in Vegas for Spence’s recent media workout. “Bring on Rollies. He’s part of PBC. I already ran it once, didn’t get my get-back. But I’m gonna beat Rolly’s ass. We’re gonna have that, at 140.”
Romero is currently tied to a mandatory title defense versus England’s Ohara Davies, which will be the subject of a purse bid hearing this coming Monday.
Garcia has fought above the lightweight limit for each of his past three fights. The most recent came in a seventh-round knockout loss to Baltimore’s Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis (29-0, 27KOs) on April 22 atop a high-grossing Showtime Pay-Per-View event from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The show was presented by PBC, to which Garcia (23-1, 19KOs) referred in things not going his way the first time around. He has since parted ways with Joe Goossen in favor of James, the reigning Trainer of the Year. A legal battle continues with estranged promoter Golden Boy Promotions, though Garcia has just kept his focus on absorbing everything that his new head coach has to offer.
“I just prayed to God, see where he was guiding me. It just led me to Dallas, it led me to Derrick,” noted Garcia. “I pursued it. I’m here now and I feel good.
“It’s like a family. We’re bonding. I’m hungry, that’s why I’m here training. I’m happy to be part of the team. I’m improving, getting better.”
Garcia previously defeated streaking contender Emmanuel Tagoe and former secondary titlist Javier Fortuna in back-to-back junior welterweight fights in 2022 prior to the loss to Davis.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox