Avila Perspective Chap 366: Boxing Shifts Into High Gear With Ryan Garcia

Welcome to the new generation of boxing. Ryan “King Ry” Garcia finally reached the mountaintop of prizefighting when he used his speed and power to knock down and handily defeat Mario Barrios last Saturday for the WBC welterweight title. It happened in Las Vegas, the Mecca of boxing.

Garcia, 27, represents a different breed of athlete, one comfortable with the dynamics of social media yet equally an old school blood and sweat product of the gyms and garages of Victorville, Calif. That’s high desert country. A new generation of boxers have arrived and few represent it better than Garcia whose more than 20 million followers know more things about him than is usual for sports heroes. His ability to draw interest in his fights has enabled him to become one of the top earners in the professional boxing world.

Boxing is entering another mode. At the moment, only two media outlets DAZN and Paramount are truly invested in pro boxing. A few others like Netflix and Amazon dip their toes into the sport when they smell a sure thing like Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson. If you know the history of boxing, the announcements of its demise are greatly exaggerated. People have announced its deathbed since the 1880s when the Great John L. Sullivan roamed the countryside in search of a fight. I once read an archived story by a female reporter who followed Sullivan during training to talk about the sport and where it was headed. Sound familiar?

Boxing is headed in another direction and will find a home somewhere. Too many people love to see a person fighting another person. Boxing is the oldest sport. Since the caveman times a form of boxing existed. It won’t ever die, especially with a new element: women’s prize fighting emerging.

Coming up, this Friday Feb. 27, a young promising flyweight named Terry Washington (6-0) meets Eduardo Reyes (18-4) in the main event at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, Calif. DMG Boxing and Promotions are staging the fight card. Washington and Reyes will be fighting for the NABF light fly title.

“Terrible” Terry Washington, 21, a lightning fast southpaw with power, fights out of San Bernardino and was last seen belting an opponent on a Manny Pacquiao Promotions card in Temecula, Calif. He is a very good fighter and lives in an area that is quickly becoming a hot bed for flyweights. Ricardo Sandoval the WBC flyweight champion lives next door in Rialto, Calif. He recently took the title from Kenshiro Teraji of Japan. Anthony Olascuaga has the WBO flyweight title and has successfully defended it four times in Japan. Three wins came by knockout for the Los Angeles fighter. Then, you have Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez the unified super fly champion who trains in Moreno Valley, Calif. All three of these champions are within a 60 mile radius and have sparred with Washington. Washington is still young and will grow into a heavier weight class but is right in the mix for the top flyweights. It should be an interesting showcase for the San Bernardino pugilist. Doors open at 5 p.m.

Arizona Fights continue as Emanuel Navarrete (39-2-1, 32 Kos) defends the unified super feather titles against “Sugar” Eduardo Nunez (29-1, 27 Kos) on Saturday Feb. 28, at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. DAZN will stream the Top Rank and Matchroom Boxing card. It’s a battle between the wild swinging Mexican Navarrete and Nunez who have sparred with each other before. Now this time it’s real. Not that Navarrete is unpolished but when he swings you don’t know what direction the punches are coming from. It is what makes him dangerous in a Marcos Maidana kind of way. Nunez is a pure slugger who disdains leaving anything for the judges to judge. This should be a spectacular fight while it lasts.

Also, Emiliano Vargas (16-0, 13 Kos) the youngest son of the great Fernando Vargas will be fighting Argentina’s Agustin Quintana (22-2-1) for two regional super light titles. He is getting ready for a world title challenge soon if he passes this test. Quintana is on a four-fight win streak and last fought at welterweight and won.

Announcements include David “Mexican Monster” Benavidez challenging Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez for the unified cruiserweight titles on May 2, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, announced Golden Boy and TGB Promotions. Prime Video pay-per-view will stream the event. “These guys have 55 knockouts between them. They’re not gonna bore the crowd. They’re gonna put on a show,” said Oscar De La Hoya CEO of Golden Boy. “They’re technicians, but they’re fighters. The pressure is on. Cinco de Mayo is a date where people expect fireworks and that’s exactly what we will get.” Tickets are now available on AXS.com. Book your rooms now.

R.I.P. Ruben Castillo. World title challenger Ruben Castillo, 68, passed away on Tuesday, Feb. 24, after battling cancer according to news reports. Castillo was raised in Bakersfield, Calif. and began boxing at age 9. During his career he fought for the featherweight world title against legends like Alexis Arguello, Salvador Sanchez, Juan LaPorte and Julio Cesar Chavez. I met Castillo in the mid-90s while starting up Uppercut Magazine in East L.A. He was still fighting and he gave us a call and visited our office on Whittier Boulevard. At the time Oscar De La Hoya was quickly rising up the ranks and Castillo wanted a crack at him. We had playful debates about different fighters and he always insisted that he defeated Salvador Sanchez. And of all the foes he faced he believed Sanchez was not on par with Julio Cesar Chavez who he believed was the best he ever faced. “Nobody hit me as hard has Julio,” Castillo said. “Not even Arguello.” Castillo was a fun-loving character who called me “Avila..” I don’t think he knew or remembered my first name. He always invited me and the magazine publisher Jesus Jimenez to play golf and drink beer. Neither of us golfed. We lost touch over the past 10 years or maybe more. Castillo passed away in Beaumont, Calif. He fought a total of 79 pro bouts. Peace brother.

Conor Benn signed with Zuffa Promotions recently to an exclusive contract. That was a tremendous coup for the boxing promotion company that was seeking a big name fighter to headline its shows. It was a surprise for Matchroom Boxing the British boxing promotion company that had been Benn’s home as a professional. Benn was recently involved in the Fight of the Year in 2025 when he met Chris Eubank Jr. in April and again in November. The first match was noted as the best of the year. Benn fights as a welterweight but can move up in weight if desired.

Fights to Watch (all times Pacific Time) include Fri. FOX Deportes 6 p.m. Terry Washington (6-0) vs Eduardo Reyes (18-4). Sat. DAZN 11 a.m. Owen Cooper (11-1) vs Constantin Ursu (14-0). Sat. Amazon 2 p.m. Elijah Pierce (21-2) vs Lorenzo Parra (23-1-1). Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Emanuel Navarrete (39-2-1) vs Eduardo Nunez (29-1).

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Photo Credit: Al Applerose