Ryan Garcia Overcomes Boos To KO Oscar Duarte In The Eighth
Ryan Garcia overcame a chorus of boos to knock out Oscar Duarte in the eighth round.
Garcia made a successful start with his trainer Derrick James at 140, which showed new wrinkles to Garcia’s game. The boxer did employ a shoulder roll on occasion in an effort to show off a new dimension to his game. In the opener, Garcia kept things long as the plan was clear: to prevent Duarte from coming in closer and firing off shots in the inside. Duarte’s ability, however, was shown in the second with a counter-left hook.
However, Garcia remained composed to land a right hand behind in jab in the third. The Mexican could not get a foothold, as he resorted to hitting Garcia on the back of the head, resulting in a warning from the referee. Garcia responded with another combination via a left hook and right hand to end the third strongly.
First Half
Duarte attempted to increase his output by targeting the body, which did result in some success. A body shot in the seventh visibly impacted the fighter, as Garcia moved around the ring to recover. The shot was a glimpse of the shot that Garcia had suffered against Gervonta Davis which stopped him. As Garcia moved around the ring, the crowd responded with some boos. That is when Garcia responded to change the fight.
In the eight round, Garcia connected with an uppercut followed up by a check left hook. Duarte’s legs stumbled. With Garcia sensing blood, he unloaded with numerous punches to send Duarte to the floor. Despite the Mexican getting up on the count of ten, the referee stopped the fight. Following the win, Garcia called out Shakur Stevenson and Rolando Romero as the quest for a world title continues.
Post-Fight Reaction
“It was a great performance but I just want to give honor to God and give him the glory. I fought hard to find myself again. I did a lot of soul searching and I just wanted to thank him. [Duarte] was a strong fighter. He took a good punch. He’s a Mexican fighter like me and he’s tough. I hit him with some hard shots but he just kept coming.
“I started using my legs, just as Derrick told me to between rounds, and it opened up the shots. It just comes with the territory [on his promotional issues]. I am a person about moving forward and having a kind heart and showing forgiveness so I just keep it at that. I want to show positivity in this world. I said what I said but I hold no hard feelings.
“I have a killer instinct. Sometimes, when I am hurting somebody that bad, I am just cracking them. But I caught him with a perfect left hook. I just had to slow his momentum down. He was building momentum, momentum and I knew I had to cut this off somehow. It’s our first fight. [James and I] worked hard. We are going to build off this and are committed to get better. I’m committing to becoming a world champion so, if Rolly wants it, let’s do this,” Garcia
Full Results
Ryan Garcia beat Oscar Duarte via an 8th round KO
Shane Mosley beat def. Joshua Conley via a 6th round TKO
Floyd Schofield beat Ricardo Lopez via a 1st round TKO
Darius Fulghum beat Pachino Hill via a 2nd round TKO
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