Ryan Garcia is back.
"KingRy" answered questions about his future in the sport following his knockout loss to Gervonta Davis earlier this year with an eighth-round knockout against Oscar Duarte at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The official time was 2:51.
With a new trainer and weight class, Garcia proved that he is still improving and far from damaged goods in a performance that saw him box well and use his fast hands to finish his opponent.
There are still defensive flaws in Garcia's game and they surfaced as he routinely turned his back to Duarte, who focused on applying pressure to eventually break down "KingRy." But Garcia showcased a sharp jab, a blistering uppercut and utilized movement at the behest of his new trainer to prevent Duarte from planting his feet and unloading power shots.
Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) opened the fight by flashing a jab and circling away from Duarte, who was content on doing whatever he could to bully his way inside. The first several rounds saw Garcia comfortably ahead. By round four, Duarte had managed to find his way inside and banged away at Garcia's body, head, arms and whatever he could find.
Duarte (26-2-1) had momentum on his side in the middle rounds but Garcia began moving his feet in round seven, to the dismay of the crowd. The movement kept Duarte off balance and eventually opened him up to the finishing sequence at the end of the eighth round.
Growing impatient, Duarte charged in and was clipped by Garcia's blistering left hook. The shot rattled Duarte and Garcia sensed that his opponent was damaged. With Duarte reeling, Garcia went to work and blasted his opponent with a combination that put Duarte down to a knee. With the referee administering the count, Duarte appeared disorientated and he rose too late, giving Garcia the knockout victory.
The win gets Garcia back to his winning ways and the division has been put on notice by one of boxing's biggest stars.
Here are the full card results.
Ryan Garcia vs. Oscar Duarte full card results
- Ryan Garcia def. Oscar Duarte via 8th round KO (2:51)
- Shane Mosley Jr. def. Joshua Conley via 6th round TKO (3:00)
- Floyd Schofield def. Ricardo Lopez via 1st round TKO (1:51)
- Darius Fulghum def. Pachino Hill via 2nd round TKO (:56)