Ryan Garcia on Facing Naoya Inoue: ‘Would Be One of The Biggest PPVs of All-time’

Ryan Garcia wants to face Naoya Inoue at 140 pounds in the future and believes the “fight would be one of the biggest PPVs of all time.”

In December, Inoue became the second boxer in the four-belt era after Terence Crawford to be undisputed in two weight divisions by knocking out Marlon Tapales, and Garcia thinks the Japanese superstar will continue to move up in weight. “Because I believe Inoue can become a multiple-weight world champion,” said Garcia in an Instagram post.

“So I’m thinking, what if one day we fight at 140? I’m talking about the future, and we do it in Japan. That would be huge. Mark my words, if it somehow plays out that way, I think that fight would be one of the PPVs of all time.”

Despite making his debut at 108 pounds, Inoue has already captured world titles in four weight categories, famously producing one of the best performances of his career by stopping Stephen Fulton Jr. to capture his first two world titles at super bantamweight. However, the ‘Monster’ is not planning to leave 122 lbs yet as he will fight Luis Nery on May 6th at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, which will be the first time the venue will host a boxing event since Mike Tyson’s defeat to Buster Douglas in 1990.

Meanwhile, Garcia is coming off an eighth-round knockout victory over Oscar Duarte, where he weighed in at a career heaviest of 143 pounds, eight months after suffering his first professional defeat to Gervonta Davis. ‘KingRy’ has recently resumed talks with Devin Haney for a proposed fight for the WBC super lightweight title in April. Garcia and Haney have fought six times in the amateur ranks, each registering three wins against each other.

This came after Garcia was in public conflict with his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, who mentioned Jose Ramirez as another potential opponent for the 25-year-old.

Garcia had some choice words for Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero, who he seemed keen on facing for the WBA Super lightweight title before telling Fight Hype he wants to beat a legitimate world champion. “Do I wanna beat the guy that represents being a champion? Yes. I don’t feel like Rolly Romero represents being a champion. If I beat him, I wouldn’t have called myself a champion; I’d just say I have a belt. When I beat Devin Haney, I can consider myself a champion.”

As for Garcia vs Inoue, there is around a 20-pound weight difference, and a future contest between them looks unrealistic at the moment.

Daniele D’Alessio

A passionate writer and sports journalist with over 3 years of work experience in journalism, content writing and marketing.

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