Ryan Garcia has been the talk of the internet – and he believes he is the face of boxing.
Garcia will fight the WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney on April 20 live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on DAZN pay-per-view.
His profile has been enhanced further over the past few months by his online activity.
“This is the time, I feel like I am stepping into my prime,” Garcia told DAZN’s YouTube channel. “I feel like in my heart, I am the face of boxing.
“I say that, because of my upside and how I can make anything have a higher reach. People don’t even just talk about my boxing, they talk about my life. If I walk wrong and they record I am going to go viral for some reason. So I think I am just that guy now.”
Garcia is very popular – he can capture attention like few others – but he is yet to win a world title. It has been argued he is redefining what a prizefighter is, because he is building a lucrative career around his image and popularity. Ye, he possesses one-punch knockout power. His rise to fame came from his ability to stop opponents in the first or second round.
Those quick finishes made for great viral moments at the dawn of a new era of social media. His fans, similarly to Garcia himself, are growing up, potentially enhancing his longevity.
“I touch places that ‘Canelo’ [Saul Alvarez] can’t touch and I touch places no fighter right now can touch – just me,” he said. “I am a marketing machine and I have the will to be the best at everything I do.”
He is the underdog against Haney (31-0, 15 KOs). The undefeated Haney is a two-division world champion, who captured the undisputed lightweight title by traveling to Australia to dethrone George Kambosos Jr. Haney, like Garcia, is 25 years old, but Haney is the champion, and Garcia therefore feels victory on April 20, despite a seventh-round knockout loss to Gervonta Davis last year, will make him the “face of boxing”.
“Will this fight solidify me as a world champion - yes,” explained Garcia. “Do I need that? Yes. Am I going to do this? Yes. That is just a bonus, but it also signifies he is the face of boxing.”
