Ryan Garcia Has a Date!
Finally, the wait is over. The much anticipated matchup between young star Ryan Garcia (20-0, 17 KO) and Luke Campbell (20-3, 16 KO) is confirmed for December 5 on DAZN.
This is music to boxing fan’s ears following months of bad blood between Ryan Garcia, his promoter Golden Boy and the streaming platform.
The announcement has come at a great time for Garcia and the rest of the Lightweight division. The stacked weight class has numerous intriguing matchups scheduled over the next few months and fans are eager to see how the division settles itself.
OCTOBER 17:
Vasiliy Lomachenko (WBA (Super), WBO, The Ring) v.s. Teofimo Lopez (IBF)
OCTOBER 31:
Gervonta Davis (WBA (Regular) LW) v.s. Leo Santa Cruz (WBA (Super) SFW)
NOVEMBER 7:
Devin Haney (WBC) v.s. Yuriorkis Gamboa
DECEMBER 5:
Ryan Garcia v.s. Luke Campbell (for WBC interim)
By the time Garcia enters the ring, the outlook of the class will become much clearer. The other major dominos will have been decided and Garcia can enter the ring with limited distractions because his opponent will be the only thing on his mind.
This is an excellent matchup and one that Garcia surely appreciates, after the failed attempts to book bouts with Jorge Linares and Luke Campbell in the previous months.
Luke Campbell is a respected veteran and is essentially a barometer to measure how Garcia can fit alongside his contemporaries. Make no mistake by this notion, Luke Campbell is extremely capable of winning this fight, and according to British Boxing Twitter, many Americans will be upset on December 5th.
If Ryan Garcia is victorious, and displays his skills against the formidable opponent that Luke Campbell is, there will be many opportunities ahead for the young contender.
Without getting too far ahead of ourselves, there would be prime opportunities to set up fights with Gervonta Davis (if victorious) and Devin Haney (if victorious).
Both Garcia and Davis have added some gas to the rumors on social media and the possibilities of this becoming a reality are a legitimate thought, however given De la Hoya’s relationship with Al Haymon, I would pump the brakes on my expectations.
A Garcia-Haney matchup would be more likely, although would still have some considerable hurdles to overcome. Both fight on DAZN, so the network wouldn’t be an issue, but Eddie Hearn of Matchroom, has been reluctant to offer his higher profile champions to contenders from other promotions. Additionally, De la Hoya is not the easiest promoter to work with.
Fortunately, we have time to ponder the possibilities and enjoy the next few months of high-profile championship boxing!
Who do you have in the Ryan Garcia – Luke Campbell fight?
