Published 15:43 IST, January 4th 2021
LeBron James, Damian Lillard and others praise Ryan Garcia after viral Luke Campbell KO
LeBron James, Damian Lillard and others praise Ryan Garcia, who defeated former gold medallist Luke Campbell by KO in the seventh round on Saturday.
Rising star Ryan Garcia scored the biggest win of his pro-boxing career on Saturday against former gold medallist Luke Campbell. After facing some trouble in the initial round and even getting knocked down in the second, the 22-year-old American turned the tables as he knocked out the 33-year-old veteran in the seventh round to win the bout. With the win, Ryan Garcia is still undefeated and took his record to an impressive 21-0.
Ryan Garcia vs Luke Campbell: NBA stars react to Garcia’s win
After the bout, Ryan Garcia received praise from many known athletes, including NBA legend LeBron James who shared a clip from the bout on his Instagram story, with the caption, “Mean!!!! The kid ain’t no joke!”. Just like LeBron James, Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard was also impressed with “King Ry’s” performance. He claimed Ryan Garcia showed “some real toughness” against Luke Campbell, adding that the lightweight division is “on fire”.
Ryan Garcia vs Luke Campbell: Correa, Paul and Haney praise Garcia
Apart from LeBron James and Damian Lillard, many other athletes, including boxer Devin Haney, baseball player Carlos Correa, Logan Paul and actor Michael B. Jordan also praised Ryan Garcia. While Jordan congratulated Garcia for the win, Correa praised Garcia’s trainers for keeping the 22-year-old focused during the bout.
Ryan Garcia calls out Gervonta Davis and Devin Haney
During his post-fight interview on DAZN, Ryan Garcia wasted no time in calling out Floyd Mayweather's portage Gervonta Davis. He said “he’s ready” to take on The Tank, who recently defeated Léo Santa Cruz. Gervonta Davis, is also undefeated (24-0) and has been in talks to fight Garcia for months.
Later, Garcia called out Devin Haney who was present at the arena. "I want to fight Devin too. I want to be a man of my word and fight Tank, I know people are worried about that one but I'm ready for it," he said. Devin Haney has held the WBC lightweight title since 2019. Speaking about Garcia's performance afterwards, the 22-year-old said, "It was a good fight."
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Image Source: Ryan Garcia/ Instagram, AP
Updated 15:43 IST, January 4th 2021