Tim Bradley wasn’t surprised when Ryan Garcia came up short in his showdown against Gervonta Davis earlier this year. The Hall of Fame former fighter always believed Garcia was good but great? He wasn’t quite sold. (photo by Ryan Hafey)
Following his setback, Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) went back to the drawing board and began fine-tuning his game. After months of putting in the work, the 25-year-old showed off his new skills against Oscar Duarte.
At times, Garcia boxed from the outside. During spurts, he used an awkward shoulder roll. The California native had it all clicking, leading to an eighth-round stoppage win over Duarte.
Bradley, from the comfort of his home, watched Garcia’s every move. Once it was all over, he was lukewarm on his performance. From Bradley’s point of view, Garcia is a decent contender, but if his handlers were to throw him in with Subriel Matias, the super lightweight division’s IBF champion, he’d be leaving the ring on a stretcher.
“A guy like Matias would murder Ryan Garcia,” said Bradley on Pro Box TV.
Presently, the boxing world is filled with heavy hitters. Matias, however, might be the most violent man on the planet.
Unsurprisingly, his 2023 has accentuated just how deadly he can be. To kick off his year, Matias (20-1, 20 KOs) got some get back against Jeremias Nicolas Ponce, stopping the only man who initially beat him via fifth-round stoppage. More recently, Matias kept things going by stopping Shohjahon Ergashev just a few weeks ago.
Matias, 31, is someone that Bradley reveres. With that said, he isn’t the only 140-pounder that he believes would wipe the floor with Garcia if given the chance.
“I would say even Devin Haney. We seen Devin Haney march forward and put pressure on guys too.”