Boxing
Ryan Garcia feels 'very disrespected' by Luke Campbell ahead of Jan. 2 fight
In the lead-up to his Jan. 2 fight against Ryan Garcia for the interim WBC lightweight title, Luke Campbell has made it clear he has not been impressed with what he's seen from Garcia. It's gotten to the point where Campbell feels he's going to knock Garcia out and hand him his first professional defeat when they meet at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, which can be seen globally on DAZN.
Garcia fired back Friday during a virtual press conference, feeling Campbell isn't giving him credit for what he's done so far in his career. He plans on making the Brit eat his words and then some for the comments.
"I feel very disrespected by Luke," Garcia said. "All that disrespect, all that hate, and all that envy is going to blind him. Luke is just the first one. I feel bad for Luke. He's just the first one of my opponents that's going to get it bad. I'm older, stronger, and coming into myself. I already felt I was coming into myself for the Fonseca fight. I was on a roll and ready to takeover. God said how it was supposed to be. I cannot wait to punish Luke Campbell. I want to break his eye. I want to break his bones. I want to break everything off of him."
Garcia (20-0, 17 KOs) burst onto the scene as a real contender after his scintillating back-to-back knockouts over Romero Duno and Francisco Fonseca. Those recent wins are paired with a massive social media presence, which the 22-year-old has over 7.7 million followers on Instagram and nearly 465,000 on Twitter. But there are people out who believe that Garcia is all hype, and the experience Campbell (20-3, 16 KOs) has as a 2012 Olympic gold medalist, along with his battles with Vasiliy Lomachenko and Jorge Linares will give the Brit an advantage come fight night.
Garcia quickly dismissed the notion and vowed to make those who doubt him eat their words.
"I don't even know what they are talking about," Garcia said. "What experience does he have? Every time he stepped up, he lost. He even lost to a guy we never heard of. Whose Yvan Mendy? He talks a lot of s— about me and saying he's going to KO me. But, to be honest, anytime a guy who shouldn't have been in the ring with me, I got him out of there real quick.
"I'm going to prove to everybody that Luke Campbell doesn't have it. It's my time. It's my era. I'm ready to show the world who I really am. I'm not here to play games. I'm tired of hearing all the misconceptions about me on Instagram and whatnot. They don't know the work I put in. This is my time. This is my moment, and I'm ready to show the world."
Initially, Garcia had been tabbed to face Linares. But Linares was unable to get into the United States because of COVID-19 travel restrictions. The focus shifted to Garcia facing Campbell on Dec. 5. The fight was moved to the first Saturday of 2021 because Campbell contracted COVID-19.
Regardless of when the fight was going to occur, Garcia stayed focused on the task in front of him and vowed to put a beating on Campbell that he's never experienced before.
"They really haven't affected me," Garcia said of the date and opponent change. "I've been training hard. If anything, it's making me a little stronger. Luke Campbell, it's inevitable for him. He's just going to his ass whooped. Whether it be Dec. 5 or Jan. 2, his fate is the same."
