Well, I'm really happy to bring into the podcast today the excellent junior Wealth
the Rate star Ryan Garcia. Ryan, we're here to talk about your very
important flight with Oscar Dewark coming up December second, live on his own from
the Toyota Center in Houston. I wondered about your comeback. We'll talk about
that. How are you doing. Thank you so much for being on today.
Yeah, thank you for having me doing great Chinese gondwell and everything is
running smoothly. So let's get into it. Let's get into it. So
we'll start off, we'll just backtrack a little bit before we get into the
fight you got coming up. I want to go back to April. Maybe
not your greatest memory, but you did have a huge pay per view fight
with Tank Davis did big business, one point two million pay per view buys,
a gate in THEVA of almost twenty three million dollars. But that was
the good news. The bad news, of course, you know, he
did get the seventh round knockout. I just wondered if you could talk to
me about what it was like to sort of get over your first loss and
being involved in such a massive event for the sport. You know it wasn't.
It wasn't devastating for me. You know, I just didn't feel that
was me at my best. It wasn't me at my best. It wasn't
something that even hurt my ego a little bit. It was just something that
I went through because at that point, I didn't have this type of focus.
I didn't have this type of dedication or commitment to the game. You
know, Ever since twenty twenty, what happened, COVID happened, had to
take some time off, and after CAMVO, I took a year and a
half off, and then I'm fighting that I'm not fighting. There was just
so much chaos and just things that through my game, off my game,
and I lost the love, and I lost the commitment and the focus for
boxing, and I started doing stupid stuff, and then I started losing who
I was and how I fight. What kind of stupid stuff were you doing?
What do you mean by that? Man? Like drinking and doing doing
whatever I wanted. I was a younger, I could do whatever, you
know, would I would go parties, you know, Jake Ball parties and
just doing whatever I want. I was having fun. But it caught up
to me because you know, after I took those long layoffs. You know,
how can I stay in the gym? How can I wasn't doing anything
but just having fun. So you know, those things backtracked me a lot
and really caused me to you know, not be the best fighter. But
this fight, when I lost, it woke up something else. It woke
up you know, me to think. I had to start thinking like,
Okay, what is what is missing here? Because I know I'm good.
I know I'm a great fighter. I know that wasn't how I fight,
Like, what's going on? I went to the thinking box, and uh,
it was just my commitment. So when I got to Dallas, got
out of l A, l A got a lot of distractions. I got
to Dallas and just committed to committed, like like, I just trusted that
if I commit and just stay in, locked in, that myself will come
out something like I'll figure it out. And that's what happened, man,
And that loss. I'm not even worried about it at all. I feel
I feel great right now. One four is definitely my weight class more forty
at more forty seven, I'm pretty confident that I'm gonna start taking over a
little by little. Well, you mentioned about you knowing your weight class.
Of course, when you fought Tank, the weight was one hundred and thirty
six, you know do you had to drop down a few pounds at a
catchwaight, And on top of that, you had to deal with the rehydration
clause that you agreed to the weigh in on the morning of the fight,
so you were limited how much you could go up after the weigh in.
Uh In, looking back, you regret signing that part of the agreement and
insisting on better weight for you. No, I don't regret it at all.
Because boxing was born, nobody wanted to box, nobody wanted to fight.
You know, look at me, me, not even at my best.
I was ready to give the fans what they want. You know.
That kind of started a whole thing where, you know, you finally crawl
from the spence figured it out and they threw down and people started, you
know, caring about boxing the game. But then when fighters stopped fighting each
other again, then they looked to these weird fights like Dean the Great and
these random news that that that suck at boxing. And look at at least
I brought some excitement in it, you know what I mean? At least
energy to the city. Wasn't my best performance in actually wasn't need to be.
But still that was the purpose of that. I'm tired of boxing was
born now? Now? Is popp now ready now? Because now everybody wants
got a little bit of balls now to fight Finally, because they seem it's
a new blueprint. I showed them. Give the fans what they want to
make some good money. This is how you do pay per views. Every
fight gotta be on pay per view, only the ones that Matt That's that's
the whole concept. Yeah, people got a I mean, you were successful
before the Tank Davis. You were making good purses and you were very popular
selling tickets. But I just wonder when you have your first really big pay
per view fight like that, is a y'all overwhelmed by the money that gets
made. I mean I heard Oscar talk about how you may have made as
much as thirty million dollars for the fight with Tank Davis. Obviously it did
a huge amount of business, and if you made it even close to that,
I gotta believe that is a record perse for a fighter that never won
a world title. Yeah, was it overwhelming to make that kind of money.
I mean, I know it's the goal here besides the glory, but
that's a big deal. No, it was insane. I think I did
make history on making the most money without a world title efference, and I
did make that. I mean to make it very clear, I did make
that, and I was I was very astonished. I was like, whoa
like, I was overwhelmed with it. I couldn't believe it was in my
bank account. And by the way, the money is still going to be
coming in because the paper used takes some time to count. It's still it's
still rolling in. We're still receiving checks too. But that's just a blessing
and it's just to me in points of the direction world, I'm selling everybody.
You know, there's a new blueprint, and I have figured it out.
I just didn't have a chance to fight on pay per view, you
know. I the old model just doesn't work. You can't put on every
final pay per view. It doesn't work like that, you know. And
on top of it, you know, Tank Davis is only doing two hundred
k boys one hundred and fifty KOs. That's the true. And then we
fight one point. It's you know, it's not hard to tell, but
yeah, it was a little overwhelming, a lot of money, a lot
of things that you face with that. You know people you don't know what
their intentions are anymore, and then you just like oh choo, like like
I'm like guarded up, but I'm also like such an open book. So
it's like kind of weird. Like everybody. I'm not one to give a
lot of advice to fighters, but my one piece of advice after all the
years I've done this is learn the word no. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
for sure, That's what I've been learning. I can't make no more
compromises. Man, I'm just saying no, can't do it. I'm sorry.
All right, So back on boxing. The business is interesting. But
in terms of the boxing, of course, after the fight you split up
with Joe Goosen, who is the trainer UH for for that fight as well
as some of your fights prior to that, you went UH and worked with
Derek James. Uh got the blessing of Errol Spence and now part of that
gym down there working with Derek. If you could just tell me how was
that going? And I wonder what is what has Derek showed you or brought
to you that's maybe something different or better than what Joe had with you.
Uh. Honestly, me and Derek, Uh, you know, Derek's been
been really working with me about technique and just kind of polishing what I do
up uh, and footwork and a lot of things. That's what you really
wanted to focus on, footward footwork, technique, technique. So he was
drilling in the beginning of the character. That's all I was doing. If
you see the videos, I wasn't going fast, I wasn't thought hard.
It was just technique, technique, technique. And then on top of it,
you know, he's he's always reminded me of not let up, Like
if I have a good day. He just called me right now, that's
what I to ignore. But he's always called me to say, stop letting
it, don't let up just because he had a good day. I don't
care if you had a good day. I don't care how good you look.
Tomorrow is a new day, and you got to get right back to
it. And I'm like, okay, Like, because sometimes you get overhappy,
you know, you start you start being so sharp as far and you
said, oh I got it down, so you don't My personality I'd be
laughated. He always lood make sure that I get right back too, and
it's just a good vibe in the Jim good energy being in Dallas also me
myself, you know, just being more there, conscious and committed. It
all helps out, you know, the training can. So now you're taking
on Duarte. He's twenty six and one with one draw. He has twenty
one knockouts, so that's indicative that he does have some power. He's twenty
seven, not an old guy. His only loss was a split decision in
twenty nineteen. Other than that, you know, he hasn't had any defeat.
He lost to a fighter named Adrian Estrella in a ten round split decision
in twenty nineteen. Not a big resume, but he has a good reputation.
So I wondered, what is your view of him and what have you
glean if you watched him, or what's Derek told you or the type of
fight you expect him to give you. You know, I know he's a
tough fighter. I know he's a bessive fighter, but it is a style
of out team anytimes it's more Southern California, growing up in the gyms Indi
York, California, Coachella. Uh, you know, l Agent, I've
seen it also. I think my experience and just where I'm at right now
is just gonna be way too much from I don't see him winning around.
Uh, anything can happen about it, but I know that I just don't
see him be to me in any way. But I know he hits hard.
He got some people out. But this is for me. It's not
even about doing thing. It's about making an example of showing people this is
who's coming forward now, this is this is this is divine. You're gonna
get and he's never gonna leave again. One that was on the Prospect of
the year Ryan, he's back. Yeah, there you go. Okay,
my prospect of here a few years ago got to make me look good.
I'm gonna make you that. Hey, dah, I got you, dare.
Hey, that's gonna be the best decision you made way way back in
five years. Well, I don't have the best decision because I did have
guys like Miguel Coto in the Hall of Fame. Vaselli, give me some
time, give me some Okay, you got it, hey, first five
to make thirty million time. Yeah, that's very good. So, now
this may be a little bit delicate, but I have to ask you.
You go into this fight, you're in a lawsuit with your promoter. They
sued you to uphold and enforce your contract that they claim is valid. So
I and that's got to be, uh make everybody involved maybe a little uncomfortable.
So I wonder from your perspective, how is it to work with Golden
Boy, Oscar and the team despite the fact that they obviously have some issues,
Maybe not specifically with you, more maybe with your advisor in Guadalupe,
Valencia, but still with that as the backdrop, how has that been to
deal with all that? You know, Dan, I can't talk about that.
I always Oscar said it just business. All is good. It's just
business, no comment, no com okay, fair enough, I told you
just saying no before, no problem. All right. So another thing I
want to ask about in terms of not that stuff, but in terms of
the boxing, is that back a long time ago when I interviewed you as
a younger fighter on the rise, I remember asking you one time about you
know, your desire to be a world champion, and I was actually kind
of taken aback when you told me like it really wasn't a big deal to
you. I think this is around the time you might be fighting, maybe
before you fought Lou Campbell, which was an interim title fight but not not
a real major title. And I was a little surprised when you said,
you know, I didn't really really care so much about that. Uh,
I wonder And my thought was, you know, that's how fighters validate themselves,
even to just win a world title, when they talk about like if
they can get in the Hall of Fame and stuff along those lines. Have
you changed your mind as a winning a world title as you get a little
deeper into your career more important, you know, Oh yeah, that's where
that's where. Uh, that's where I'm at. You know, I want
to become a world champion to validate myself and you know, at at that
end of my belt. When I first got into the game, my whole
goal was to you know, gain traction and you know, let people know
who I am and you know, become a huge known name. That was
my goal. That was what it was. And I figured out a way
and I was like, oh, he'll be good at the sport. Boo.
I did it. Then I was like, Okay, now we can
make a huge fight, and that was my next goal. I made a
huge fight, made a ton of money. Now my goal is, Okay,
now I know I could be the best fighter. Let me be the
best fighter I could be and become a champion and show people I could do
that. So I kind of had like a whole thing in my head.
But from the loss, you know, that woke that competitive spirit in me
again. It was like me back in aptual. Oh okay, you got
one on me. All right, I'm gonna come back and string these wins
in again and and and become a champion. And then I'm gonna run that
right back and beat them because I know I'm a better fighter, and I
know I'm betterfied when I show and I will be a rematch. Oh I'm
gonna get that rematch. Okay, Well, before the rematch, I want
to just wrap up with this. Uh. There's been a lot of discussion
from Bob Aaron from Top Break and from us from Golden Boy. Actually I
spoke to about this, saying that when him and Bob met recently, because
they do have some business to talk to with different fights and fighters, that
one of the things that was predominant in that conversation that took place not that
long ago is the prospect of what would be an I in my mind,
a really huge fight between you and the WBO lineal champion of the junior wealtheweight
division, TF Malopez. You guys are two big names, big personalities,
exciting styles, both young. Uh how does that sound to you? And
do you think it's realistic to happen? They're talking about doing it like in
the first fight in the next year after if you as long as everything goes
well for you to come up against the work te Yeah, we've been talking
about that. Like I said, I'm ready for him. I'm ready for
everybody I want. I want to become a champion at one. My coach
is just making these decisions, Derek. You know, I asked Derek who
does he want me to fight coming back? Showed them who I want who
I can fight, and he picked osbard Doorte. So same thing is gonna
go here. Whatever Derek wants is gonna happen. I don't care. Wherever
they want is gonna happen. What is it? Does your heart say,
give me to your female Because he's a big name and he's the real champion.
Yeah, I mean that's what I want. I've been calling him out
for a minute because I know I'm beat him, so I'll run it with
him. We got to figure that that out. I asked Oscar. He
said he wants to do the MSG spear and I was like, okay,
uh whatever. I even messages to a FEMA a little bits on Instagram.
I said. I had told him do you want to fight? Because he
was complaining about only made a million dollars blah blah blah, and I said,
hey, man, like do you want to make some real money?
And then he said something about like oh Ryan vessies me and blah blah blah.
I'm like, didn't you just say you wanted to make more money?
But he's talking about like this is a fight that you will make money.
Uh so yeah, I would love to fight him, honestly. Well,
hopefully that will happen. Obviously got the worst that he'd get through first December,
second in Houston on Bassoli, Brian, I wish you the best of
luck in that now. I appreciate your time as always and good luck for
you. Yeah, God bless you, damn to save you. Yeah,