Will Ryan Garcia be the next Oscar De La Hoya or Victor Ortiz?
Ryan Garcia is Golden Boy Promotion’s bright new star, but will he become the next Oscar De La Hoya or Victor Ortiz?
Ryan Garcia is a rising boxing prospect. He appears to have all the tools to become a boxing sensation. He’s young, talented, good-looking and possesses charisma. He’s signed to Golden Boy Promotions and hopes are high. Unfortunately, where there is potential, there’s also the threat that it will go unrealized.
Oscar De La Hoya is one of boxing’s greatest success stories. He came from a working-class family in East L.A. where he was an amateur standout in his youth. He won a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics and went on to have a glorious 16-year professional career.
De La Hoya won titles in six divisions and beat legends like Julio Cesar Chavez, Pernell Whitaker and many others. After his illustrious career, De La Hoya proved to have brains as well as brawn when he helped create Golden Boy Promotions in 2002. Golden Boy is one of the largest and most successful boxing promotional companies in the world.
De La Hoya has a nose for talent, and he often looks for boxers that mirror himself. Ryan Garcia closely parallels De La Hoya in several ways.
Like De La Hoya, Garcia is a Mexican-American from Los Angeles. He was also an amateur standout. According to Golden Boy’s website, Garcia had an amateur record of 215-15 and won 15 national championships. He has a long list of amateur accomplishments which has translated to professional success.
In two years as a professional, Garcia has amassed a record of 14-0 with 13 KOs. He’s quickly traveling up the super featherweight rankings. Boxrec.com has Garcia rated as the 47th super featherweight in the world.
It should be noted that De La Hoya won his first title as a super featherweight at the age of 21. Garcia is the same height as De La Hoya, so it is likely that the goal is to have him follow the same path. He’s positioned to win a title early in his career, but he has a big frame which will support more weight. Don’t be surprised to see Garcia move up in weight as his career progresses.
The problem is that these plans are all hypothetical. De La Hoya lived up to the expectations that were set for him, but there’s no guarantee that Garcia will do the same. Boxing is full of tragic stories of wasted potential, and Golden Boy Promotions has experienced this firsthand.
In 2004, Victor Ortiz made his professional debut at 17 years of age just like Ryan Garcia. Ortiz didn’t have the same level of amateur success as De La Hoya or Garcia, but he showed promise. Ortiz won fights and caught the attention of Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions. He signed with Golden Boy, and the company hoped he would be the second coming of De La Hoya.
Like De La Hoya and Garcia, Ortiz was Mexican-American, handsome, and possessed powerful fists. He won his first minor title in 2008 as a super lightweight at 21 years old. Ortiz was off to a good start.
Golden Boy was in love with its young talent, and De La Hoya was impressed with his protégé. Nobody saw Ortiz’s fall coming.
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In his bid to win the WBA super lightweight title, Ortiz fought Marcos Maidana. The fight started off hot. Ortiz sent Maidana to the canvas in Round 1 and twice in Round 2, but was also dropped in the first. Fight fans were happy but Golden Boy must have been worried. Their hopeful star was entertaining yet careless. Ortiz went down again in the sixth and the fight was over. He lost by TKO in Round 6.
Ortiz tasted defeat, but Golden Boy didn’t give up on him. He won the WBC welterweight title in 2011 against Andre Berto. Ortiz righted his course and was a champion. Sadly, his status as champion didn’t last long.
He lost the first defense of his title to Floyd Mayweather Jr. Mayweather knocked out Ortiz in four. Ortiz lost back-to-back bouts after his loss to Mayweather. He looked shot, and Golden Boy Promotions dropped Ortiz from its roster.
Victor Ortiz won a title but he fell well short of expectations. He’s 31 years old today and has a record of 32-6-3. Out of his six losses, five were by knockout. Ortiz looked good as a young prospect, but it took elite opposition to show his defensive deficits and lack of a chin. He’s still trying to fight his way into title contention, but his best days are long gone.
Time will tell if Ryan Garcia’s career is more like De La Hoya’s or Ortiz’s. On Friday, May 4, Garcia faces veteran Jayson Velez, who is a big step up for Garcia. Velez’s record is 26-4-1 with 18 knockouts. He has never been knocked out and should give Garcia some rounds.
If Garcia knocks out Velez or if he significantly outboxes him, his hype will grow. Garcia will likely win, but he needs to look good doing it to sustain his momentum. If he loses, then his story is over before it began.
Based on his amateur pedigree, Garcia has a better chance of succeeding than Victor Ortiz. It’s unfortunate that Garcia’s budding career is compared to that of De La Hoya, who is a hall-of-famer. Most do not achieve that status, but that’s Garcia’s burden. As long as he’s with Golden Boy, then fans and pundits will compare him to the original Golden Boy.
Next: De La Hoya to start Golden Boy MMA, wants Liddell
Velez is the first test of Garcia’s career. If Garcia passes the test, then his golden dreams live on. Time will tell if Garcia lives up to the gargantuan shadow cast by Oscar De La Hoya, but those are big gloves to fill.