Is there beef brewing between Ryan Garcia and Canelo Alvarez? Nah, probably not—but it’s definitely a little spicy! The former interim WBC lightweight champ raised a few eyebrows when he skipped over ‘Cinnamon’—his old training partner and gymmate—instead tossing a certain throne to none other than Terence Crawford, who might be Canelo’s future dance partner in the ring. 

This comes weeks after Ryan Garcia was forced to swap trainers due to logistical issues. What’s this all about? You see, as ‘King Ry’ prepared to return to the ring after one year of suspension against former WBO super lightweight champion Rolly Romero, clips of him training with Eddie Reynoso surfaced on social media, sparking speculations about Garcia returning to the Reynoso stable.

The pair trained together for five fights in the past between 2018 to 2021 before Garcia looked elsewhere for guidance. Regardless, Reynoso seems to have been busy training his star fighter Canelo Alvarez for his bout against IBF super middleweight champion William Scull in Saudi Arabia. This made working with Garcia logistically impossible for the veteran trainer, resulting in Garcia confirming that he would train with his father and brother.

On March 30th, reports emerged suggesting Garcia has started training with Derrick James, who coached him for the Devin Haney fight in April last year. There doesn’t seem to be any ill will between the two parties, suggesting Garcia genuinely believes in what he said recently. So, the question is, what did Garcia snub Canelo from to crown Crawford instead? During his appearance in an interview with Emily Austin on DAZN Boxing, the entire story unfolded.

Garcia was asked about the current pound-for-pound number one boxer, and he didn’t waste a breath to name “Crawford.” You might want to know, The Ring has ranked Crawford the 3rd pound-for-pound best, while Canelo takes up the 7th spot on the list. It’s also worth noting that if Canelo beats Scull on May 3rd in Riyadh, he will fight Crawford next in September.

Nonetheless, it appears the Victorville native hasn’t forgotten Canelo entirely!

Ryan Garcia gives Canelo Alvarez an honor after giving Terence Crawford the crown

In case you didn’t know, Canelo and Garcia had a mentor-mentee relationship under coach Eddy Reynoso when Garcia was in the same camp. Garcia had joined Canelo’s camp in San Diego, which resulted in the two developing a brotherly relationship, with Canelo attending Garcia’s fights. So, Garcia couldn’t fully forget about the Mexican superstar.

During the same interview, when asked who the current face of boxing is, instead of naming Gervonta Davis, Garcia gave that honor to “Canelo.” Interestingly, he didn’t forget about himself either! When pressed about the future face of boxing, the 26-year-old uttered his own name without hesitation. “Ryan Garcia,” he said.

That being said, it appears Ryan Garcia truly believes Terence Crawford is a better boxer than Canelo Alvarez. This might be put to the test when Canelo and Crawford share the ring later this year. Do you agree with Garcia?