By Victor Salazar
New York - In a short amount of time, Ryan “KingRy” Garcia (16-0, 13 KO’s) has amassed a very good following. Outside of his looks, charisma, and social media activity - many insiders consider him one of the best prospects in boxing.
At a very young age of 19, he has what it takes to be a superstar, but outside of that, his boxing craft needs to be polished - according to his promoter Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions.
“KingRy did a lot of great things but he needs work,” De La Hoya stated. “He can still go back to the drawing board and keep working on his craft. He has the speed and everything that goes with it outside the ring. He has the charisma and can expose boxing to a whole new demographic. He has to remember that training and focus is what got him here.”
Garcia had a tough go around with Carlos Morales even though he did get the victory in his last bout. De La Hoya feels it is just what he needed at this point of his career.
“Being his promoter, I know what steps he must take to get to that level,” explained De La Hoya. “I did test him in this fight. It was a very difficult fight. Those are the tests that get you back to the gym and make you work harder. He didn’t throw enough jabs and he has to throw more combination. He has to bounce more on his toes and stay focused. He has a bright future and we’re going to take the necessary steps.”
De La Hoya isn’t coy on what he feels about Garcia. He thinks he will be the next pay-per-view star in the sport of boxing taking over the reins from Canelo Alvarez one day.
“We promote the only superstar in boxing that can generate over a million pay-per-views in the sport in Canelo Alvarez. I think Ryan Garcia is the next pay-per-view star. I like (Anthony) Joshua but he hasn’t fought here in the states. Even a fight with (Deontay) Wilder won’t crack 350,000 because nobody knows them in the pay-per-view industry. We’re motivated and we’ going to continue to look for the next young champions and next stars,” De La Hoya said.