Ryan Garcia’s Thunderous KO Tops This Week’s Installment of HITS and MISSES

Ryan Garcia’s Thunderous KO Tops This Week’s Installment of HITS and MISSES

There was plenty to love about boxing over Valentine’s Day weekend. Heck, there were even a few reasons to feel jilted over what might have been. But the biggest story was that boxing absolutely delivered the goods just before the world was turning its full attention toward this weekend’s huge rematch between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury.

Yep, Cupid slung plenty of arrows at boxing fans over the past couple of days. Here are his biggest HITS and MISSES.

HIT – Ryan Garcia’s Thunderous Valentine’s Day KO 

Heartthrob lightweight contender Ryan Garcia has over 5 million followers on Instagram, hangs around with other social media influencers/invaders like Logan and Jake Paul, and seems to be the biggest hit with the ladies in boxing since his promoter Oscar De La Hoya cut a musical album back in 2000.

But Garcia sure can fight, and that’s something that cannot be denied after seeing him shockingly knock out Francisco Fonseca in the first round of the main event of a Valentine’s Day special card showcased on DAZN Friday night in Anaheim, Calif. Garcia looked sensational, and the 21-year-old should only keep getting better under the tutelage of Canelo Alvarez’s trainer Eddy Reynoso. What a win it was for Garcia, and what huge statement the fighter made as he seeks to become boxing’s next big thing.

MISS – IBF’s Silly Super Middleweight Rankings 

German super middleweight Vincent Feigenbutz found himself with the opportunity of a lifetime on Saturday night in his main event battle against IBF titleholder Caleb Plant in Nashville, Tenn. The 24-year-old had only competed in fights on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean during his nine-year professional boxing career, and most of those were in his home country. But thanks to the IBF’s 168-pound rankings, which amazingly rated the one-loss fighter with no notable wins in the division at No. 3, Feigenbutz found himself with a huge chance to become the first German fighter to win a world title in the U.S. since Max Schmeling defeated Jack Sharkey in 1930.

The problem, of course, was the Feigenbutz was nowhere near ready for such a huge leap up in competition. That could easily be seen just from the 10 seconds of mitt work Fox showed the fighter doing before he headed into the ring on fight night. Look, it makes sense for the PBC, Fox and everyone else involved to operate within boxing’s current system, even if it’s an incredibly flawed one. But Plant vs. Feigenbutz was a silly mismatch that couldn’t possibly do anything for anyone beyond getting Plant paid for one easy night of work.

HIT – Abel Ramos’ Fantastic Final Round Effort Lands Fighter Epic Comeback KO

Welterweight Bryant Perrella was in control of the fight and on his way to scoring the unanimous decision victory over Abel Ramos on Saturday night on Fox’s Plant-Feigenbutz card. Perrella was ahead on all three scorecards entering the 10th round for good reason. According to CompuBox, for example, Perrella had the 200-79 edge in total connected punches.

But Ramos wasn’t prepared to let those last three minutes run off the clock without doing his best to nab the unlikely victory. He knocked Perrella down midway through the last round, then finished him off during the final seconds of the fight. It was an incredible display of fortitude.

Much was made afterward about referee Jack Reiss stopping the contest with just one second left on the clock. But I’d rather give credit here to Ramos for throwing the kitchen sink at his opponent when he had to know the odds were completely stacked against him.

MISS – Fighters Not Listening to Their Corners

Fighters aren’t really capable of judging fights while they participate in them, but 24-year-old lightweight Austin Dulay had the hometown gig against 33-year-old veteran Diego Magdaleno in Tennessee and absolutely should have been listening to his corner on fight night. Had he done that, Dulay would at least not have offered such a quizzical look on his face after judges turned in their scorecards in favor of Magdaleno. The elder had been busier, better and more active for most of the fight. Dulay can act as shocked as he wants over the scores after the fact, but what should really shock him is his own lack of attention to the simple act of listening to his corner’s instructions during the fight.

Magdaleno was winning the fight. Dulay’s corner told him that. Dulay didn’t change a thing to his approach.

HIT – Immediate Promotion of Ryan Garcia vs. Jorge Linares Summer Showdown

Former lightweight champion Jorge Linares returned to American soil on the undercard of Garcia-Fonseca, and the idea put forth by the DAZN crew was that if both Garcia and Linares won their fights, the two would meet in May. So, the apparent promotion of each man’s next fight started well before they even won on Friday night and kept going after each fighter delivered the goods.

Garcia appears to be a runaway train type of talent that could become a huge crossover star. But Linares has the talent, experience and punching power to stop that train in its tracks. Well done by DAZN, Golden Boy Promotions and the two fighters for getting the hype on the proposed Garcia-Linares going so early. It’s a big fight made even bigger by that smart approach.

Photo credit: Tom Hogan, Hogan Photos / Golden Boy Promotions

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