Ryan Garcia has never gotten his hands on a world title, nor has he even competed for one. However, his lack of championship hardware hasn’t stopped Jorge Linares from publicly calling him out.
For a number of years, the now 37-year-old has done his best to lure his much younger foe into the ring. But, despite demanding that they square off, the two have yet to officially clash. Although their career paths have continued to go down different roads, the Venezuelan native is of the belief that now is as good a time as any for him to call Garcia back to the carpet.
Garcia, 24, is coming off a seventh-round stoppage defeat at the hands of Gervonta Davis. Linares, on the other hand, has also seen better days. For the former multiple division champion, he’s come out on the losing end in three consecutive bouts. But while neither man has picked up a victory in their recent outings, Linares views their shaky performances as an indication that this is the perfect time for them to tango.
“He come from a loss, I come from a loss, so this is the best time to make the fight,” said Linares to BoxingScene.com recently.
Although he hates to admit it, Linares (47-8, 29 KOs) acknowledges that his time in the sport of boxing is coming to an end. By and large, Garcia’s once glittering name has now been covered with dirt. After pontificating on countless occasions that Davis stood essentially no chance against him, Garcia (23-1, 19 KOs) has been lambasted for what many consider was him waving the white flag. Linares though, won’t go that far.
In no way shape or form will Linares downplay what Garcia brings to the table. With that said, he did accentuate that Garcia’s myopic style of attack will continually lead to his downfall, including against him.
“He have good talent but he can’t make plans in the middle of the fight. I respect his talent, he has talent. I’m trying to make amazing fights with the best super lightweights. So I think this is the best moment to make the fight with Garcia.”