Ryan Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) is fresh off a comeback victory against Mario Barrios (29-3-2, 18 KOs). While many are now eyeing a fight against ‘KingRy’, there is one fighter who, apparently, wants it a lot more than the rest: Oscar Duarte (30-2-1, 23 KOs).
Speaking to Boxing Social, Duarte said he has improved as a fighter since their last fight and that he will stop at nothing to get the rematch.
“There’s been an evolution of me as a fighter and as a person since the first fight with Ryan Garcia, and it doesn’t matter if he goes down to 140, or I go up to 147 to fight him,” he said. “I’m willing to do anything because I really do want that rematch.”
The duo first fought each other on December 2, 2023, in Houston, in a bout that served as Garcia’s comeback after his loss to Gervonta Davis. Duarte pressured Garcia heavily for much of the fight with aggressive forward movement and body shots. However, the momentum quickly shifted during the eighth round when Garcia landed his trademark lightning-fast left hook that stunned Duarte. This was quickly followed by a barrage that forced a stoppage and paved the way for Garcia being declared the victor via TKO.
And now, over two years down the road, with how Duarte has improved as a fighter. If they were to fight again, the dynamic could be very different. Meanwhile, Garcia is not the only fighter that is on Duarte’s mind.
“I would like to fight Pitbull because everyone knows that styles make fights, and that fight would be a bloody war that the fans would really love,” he said. “I recognize what Pitbull has done for this sport.”
“Biggest Coward in Boxing”
On the other hand, it sure looks like the drama surrounding Garcia won’t be ending anytime soon. Rolando Romero recently took to X to accuse him of apparently ducking their rematch.
“Ryan is the biggest coward in boxing. Ducked our rematch clause, when we had the entire deal, purses, venue, splits done,” he wrote.
Discover more from Fights Around The World
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
