SPORTS SHORTS 15: RYAN GARCIA ALSO WANTS TO FIGHT HIS IDOL MANNY PACQUIAO
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 05 Jan 2021
Undefeated lightweight rising fighter and social media sensation Ryan “KingRy” Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) showed the boxing fans that he has a place among top fighters when he knocked out 2012 Olympic gold medalist Luke Campbell (20-4, 16 KOs) in the seventh round. The 22-year-old fighter from Victorville, California went down in the second round but got up immediately and pummeled Campbell in the succeeding rounds and in the seventh he dropped Campbell to his knee and the referee counted him out.
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Before his victory against Campbell, Garcia had an interview over DAZN where he discussed about his coming fight and was asked who he would like to fight next after he beats Campbell. The young fighter replied that he would fight Gervonta “Tank” Davis next, the winner of Devin Haney vs. Teofimo Lopez and in a very surprising statement he said he would like to fight his idol Manny Pacquiao before he retires.
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“After I beat Luke Campbell, and whatever fashion it is as long as I look great, I want to fight Tank Davis. I want to fight Gervonta Davis next, Then after that, hopefully Devin Haney can fight Teofimo Lopez and the winner of that I get to fight,” Garcia told DAZN. "My dream is, I beat Tank Davis and then I end up getting a chance to fight Manny Pacquiao before he gets to go because he’s one of my idols. He is one of the people I look up to and I think he is that last great legend, after Muhammad Ali and all the other legends, I think he is one of those. It would be an honor to be in the ring with him at either 140 or 147 lbs, I don’t care I just wanna be in the ring with him, and after that, like I said I want Teofimo or Devin Haney,” said Garcia.
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A fight with Tank Davis or Manny Pacquiao is difficult to transact because both are currently under contract with Al Haymon and the Premier Boxing Champions, and Garcia is promoted by Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions who had squabbles and sued Haymon in the past years. Teofimo Lopez is under contract with Top Rank, so the easiest fight to make for Garcia and DAZN would be with Devin Haney since he is promoted by Eddie Hearn and Matchroom boxing who has a good working relationship with Golden Boy Promotions.
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Former martial artist Monsour del Rosario believes that McGregor is going to be an intimidating opponent in the ring for Manny Pacquiao. "McGregor is a UFC champion and also a good striker so I think it will be an exciting fight,” Del Rosario was quoted by Inquirer Sports. "I would love to see how McGregor will compare his experience with unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. to Pacquiao. I would like to hear from him who’s the powerful puncher? Who’s the heavy-hitter and who’s the toughest opponent? So I think this will be an exciting bout.”
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For celebrated MMA coach Mark Sangiao a fight between Pacquiao and McGregor is a good undertaking for them because of the smash hits the two fighters had in past fights. "It is a good strategy for Pacquiao because everybody is craving to watch him fight again,” said Sangiao, the Team Lakay patriarch. “On McGregor, he really knows how to sell his fight too. It’s going to be a blockbuster fight for sure.”
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Big boxing fights for the year 2021:
Jan. 30: Artur Beterbiev vs. Adam Deines, for Beterbiev's WBC and IBF light heavyweight titles
Jan. 30: Caleb Plant vs. Caleb Truax, for Plant's IBF super middleweight title
Feb. 13: TBA -- Joseph "JoJo" Diaz vs. Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov, 12 rounds, for Diaz's IBF junior lightweight title
Feb. 20: TBA -- Miguel Berchelt vs. Oscar Valdez, 12 rounds, for Berchelt's WBC junior lightweight title
March 13: TBA -- Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman 'Chocolatito' Gonzalez, for Estrada's WBC title and Gonzalez's WBA title
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Golden State ace gunner Stephen Curry recovered his old fiery shooting on Sunday, sinking a career-high 62 points to become the second-oldest player in history to score at least 60 points, second only to Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, who put in 60 points against the Utah Jazz in his final professional game at 37 years old. Curry did the feat in just 36 minutes, again together with Kobe as the only players in history to score at least 62 points in 36 or fewer minutes. Kobe did it in December 20, 2005, when he dropped 62 points against the Dallas Mavericks in just 33 minutes of play. Golden State knocked off the Portland Blazers on Sunday, 137-122, to improve its record to 3-3.
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He finished 18-for-31 from the field, including 8-for-16 from the 3-point arc, and was 18-of-19 from the free throw line with five rebounds and four assists in 36 minutes. Curry's previous career high was 54 points and he became the first player since Kobe Bryant in 2005 to score at least 30 points in each half of a game, according to Elias Sports Bureau research. Curry scored 22 points in the first quarter, the 27th time in his career he has scored at least 20 points in a quarter. He scored 31 points in Sunday's first half and 31 points in the second half.
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The NBA’s contact tracing system has indicated that Kevin Durant has been exposed to COVID-19 and the Brooklyn Nets star will need to quarantine him for seven days, according to reports. That means he could not be in action for four games. Last year, he was also tested positive for coronavirus. The Nets lost two straight games and has a 3-4 win-loss record, placing joint ninth in the Eastern Conference. Durant is expected to play for the Nets again on January 12 against the Denver Nuggets.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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