Ryan Garcia: King Ry and the left hook from Victorville | Ultimate Boxing Reunion

Why fans still care

RYAN GARCIA is one of the biggest draws in boxing. His 2023 fight with Gervonta Davis sold more than 1.2 million pay per view buys in the United States, according to insider sources reported by CBS, and drew a gate of about $22.8 million. He had about 7.5 million Instagram followers by the end of 2020, and in 2021 he became the first American boxer with a Gatorade endorsement deal.

He has also been knocked down and got up, lost and come back. As of October 2026 he is the WBC welterweight champion.

Early life

He was born on 8 August 1998, and his hometown is Victorville, California. His father, Henry, drove him to tournaments. He started boxing at about seven in his uncle Sergio’s garage, and he was thrown out of the High Desert Boxing Club for lying about his age. Sports Illustrated reports a 215 and 15 amateur record with 15 national titles, and an aborted attempt to make the 2016 US Olympic team.

The early fights

He made his professional debut on 9 June 2016, aged 17, stopping Edgar Meza in round 1, and signed with Golden Boy, the promotional company of Oscar De La Hoya, Who’s Who number 10. In 2018 he moved to trainer Eddy Reynoso, the trainer of Canelo Álvarez, Who’s Who number 8, and won five fights under him, all by knockout. On 2 November 2019 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas he knocked out Romero Duno with a counter right hand at 1:38 of round 1 for the vacant WBC Silver lightweight title.

Career chapters

1. 2016Turns professional at 17
2. 2018Joins trainer Eddy Reynoso
3. 2019Knocks out Romero Duno in round 1
4. 2021Gets up to stop Luke Campbell for the WBC interim lightweight title
5. 2022Rejoins Joe Goossen and stops Javier Fortuna
6. 2023First loss, to Gervonta Davis, then a win over Oscar Duarte
7. 2024Haney fight changed to a no contest; one year suspension
8. 2025Loses to Rolando Romero in Times Square
9. 2026Wins the WBC welterweight title from Mario Barrios, then stops Conor Benn

Luke Campbell 2021

On 2 January 2021 he met Luke Campbell, the 2012 Olympic champion, for the WBC interim lightweight title. In round 2 a Campbell left put him down, the first knockdown of his career. He got up, and in round 7 a left hook to the body ended it at 1:58. “I chose to be a champion tonight,” he said.

A break and a new corner 2021 to 2022

In April 2021 he pulled out of a planned fight with Javier Fortuna to “manage my health and wellbeing”. In October 2021 Canelo Álvarez, Who’s Who number 8 said he was wasting his talent, and in February 2022 Garcia left Reynoso, saying he “didn’t really have time to train me”, and rejoined Joe Goossen. He beat Emmanuel Tagoe on points in April 2022, and on 16 July 2022 in Los Angeles he dropped Fortuna three times, with a body shot and then two left hooks, and stopped him in round 6.

Gervonta Davis 2023

On 22 April 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas he met Gervonta Davis at a 136 lb catchweight, with no title at stake, before a sell-out 20,842. Mike Tyson, Who’s Who number 34, Sugar Ray Leonard, Who’s Who number 16 and Manny Pacquiao, Who’s Who number 1 were ringside. Davis put him down in round 2, and a body shot ended it at 1:44 of round 7. “He caught me with a good shot, and I just couldn’t recover,” Garcia said.

Derrick James, Duarte and Haney 2023 to 2024

In May 2023 he hired Derrick James, moved to Dallas and went up to 140 lb. On 2 December 2023 in Houston he knocked out Oscar Duarte in round 8 with a check left hook, winning the WBA Gold super lightweight title. On 20 April 2024 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn he knocked Devin Haney down in rounds 7, 10 and 11 and won a majority decision. He had weighed in at 143.2 lb for a 140 lb fight, so Haney’s title was not at stake. He then tested positive for ostarine, the result was changed to a no contest, and he was suspended for a year and fined $10,000. His team said he never intentionally took a banned substance.

Rolando Romero 2025

He returned on 2 May 2025 in Times Square, New York, as an 11 to 1 favourite against Rolando Romero, with the WBA welterweight title at stake. Romero put him down with a left hook about 14 seconds into round 2 and won a unanimous decision. “He caught me early. No excuses, man. Congrats to him,” Garcia said.

WBC champion 2026

On 21 February 2026 at T-Mobile Arena he challenged Mario Barrios, who was trained for the fight by Garcia’s old coach Joe Goossen, for the WBC welterweight title. Two right hands put Barrios down inside 30 seconds, and Garcia won a unanimous decision, 119 to 108, 120 to 107 and 118 to 109. It was his first full world title, at his third attempt. On 12 September 2026, in his first defence, with his father Henry as head coach, he dropped Conor Benn with a right hand in round 2, and referee Thomas Taylor stopped it at 1:25, before 18,855. The WBC named him its Boxer of the Month for October 2026.

Style, technique and the corner

How he fought

Speed and power were his calling cards from the start, according to Sports Illustrated, with a left hook to the body. The Guardian wrote that he “repeatedly threw his signature left hook” against Benn. The left hook finished Campbell to the body and dropped Fortuna to the head, and his right hand did the damage against Duno, Haney and Barrios. Under Reynoso he worked on distance and patience. He has been dropped by single punches, by Campbell, Davis and Romero.

The corner

His father, Henry, trained him from the start. Eddy Reynoso trained him from 2018 to early 2022, then Joe Goossen until 2023, then Derrick James in Dallas. For the Benn fight in 2026 his father was head coach, with PJ Shirdan as assistant, at Craft Boxing Club in Calabasas.

Stories people still tell

1. Thrown out for his age.

   As a boy he was thrown out of the High Desert Boxing Club for lying about how old he was.

2. Up off the floor.

   The first time he was ever knocked down, by Campbell, he got up and won.

3. Old coach, other corner.

   Joe Goossen trained Barrios to fight him, and Garcia still won the title.

Legacy

His career is still going. In the ring he has gone from a social media star to a world champion.

Outside the ring, in June 2024 he was arrested over damage at a Beverly Hills hotel; he was later charged with one misdemeanour count, and the case was dismissed in October 2024 after the damage was paid. In July 2024 the WBC expelled him over racist and anti-Muslim remarks he made online, and it lifted the ban in November 2025.