Former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. recently came to his teammate Ryan Garcia’s rescue and defended him from heavy public scrutiny and judgment. Following his recent decision to opt out of the JoJo Diaz fight due to a hand injury, Ryan Garcia has faced immense backlash from within the boxing community, even from his own teammate, Canelo Alvarez.
Andy Ruiz Jr. said that despite all of the pushback against the 23-year-old, he is a skilled fighter and that he has a bright future ahead of him. He also lauded him for his ability to become a star in the sport by way of social media. Lastly, Ruiz truly believes Garcia has what it takes to beat the top guys in the lightweight division.
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“Ryan Garcia, he’s a fighter. A lot of people try to talk s**t and put him down but he is an awesome fighter, you know, ever since he was a young kid, and you know, luckily he did get all of those views from YouTube and all that and that’s what’s making him a star and made him a star actually.
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“A lot of people are probably going to say bad and good, so I tell everybody, all publicity is good publicity, but you know, everyone can’t be a 100% every day, you know, but that’s life. He’s still young, he has a bright future, and I still believe he can beat all those guys in his weight,” said Andy Ruiz Jr.
Do you think Ruiz directed this towards Canelo Alvarez’s recent comments about Garcia?
Ryan Garcia is now looking to make Canelo Alvarez proud
Ryan Garcia‘s teammate and the p4p king, Canelo Alvarez, recently said that he believes the 23-year-old is wasting his prime years by remaining inactive.
“Look, Ryan has a lot of talent. But to me, in my eyes, he’s wasting a lot of time and wasting his talent. I look at him and don’t see him 100 percent dedicated and, to us, that’s a bad signal.
“We always remind him as a team to come to the gym – to train, and to learn because you need to be in the gym.
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“You’re learning day-by-day, at the very minimum fighting five times a year. When I was beginning my career, I did 15 fights in one year. That’s where I was at the beginning of my career. So definitely he needs to be a little more dedicated,” said Canelo Alvarez.
However, Ryan Garcia wants to put this year in his past. With his surgery behind him now, he has now promised a stronger return in early 2022. The 23-year-old recently even issued a fiery statement and put the rest of the lightweight division on notice in a YouTube video –
“I’m going to knock everyone out. Now that I have two hands, good luck. You guys are all finished. Two hands now? Come on now. I was fighting with one hand, now I have two,” said Ryan Garcia.
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Do you see Garcia coming back early next year?
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