“Ryan Gave Up.” Andy Ruiz And Others Criticize Garcia After Knockout Loss. Are They Being Fair?

By: Sean Crose

“Gervonta did what he had to do, man, he won the fight, but I was going for Ryan. But he gave up, man. I feel like he gave up. I feel like he should have did what he had to do to win the fight. When we get down we gotta get back up. We got to ask for God for that victory. But I feel like that’s what he should have done. I still feel Ryan should have did more. He should have risked his life more. He should have risked his life more.” Those phrases, from the mouth of former IBF, WBA, and WBO heavyweight titlist Andy Ruiz, had been mentioned after Garcia was knocked out by a physique blow from Gervonta Davis throughout their Saturday superfight.

Ruiz could have been talking within the warmth of the second, as he himself admitted he had been pulling for Garcia. Yet Ruiz wasn’t the one fighter of observe to be crucial of Garcia, who was acutely aware on one knee whereas he was counted on this weekend. Former WBC cruiserweight titlist Tony Bellew was additionally unimpressed by the actual fact Garcia didn’t beat the rely. “You’ve gotta rise! Do it once and you’ll do it again!” Bellew warned. Former IBF junior welterweight titlist Ishe Smith was much more blunt. “He fucking quit,” Smith mentioned of Garcia.

Yet Garcia additionally had his defenders. “For anyone who thinks that Ryan Garcia quit,” legendary broadcaster Al Bernstein said on social media. “I have this to say. He got knocked down early by a very big punch by a big puncher, got up & kept fighting for 4 more rounds. When he got hit with a debilitating body shot he couldn’t continue. Period. How does that equal quitting?” Bernstein makes a very good level. It’s straightforward to criticize a fighter, particularly in case you your self had by no means entered the ring. Plus, Ryan Garcia was the one particular person on earth to really feel the starcher Davis landed on him, so solely he can or can’t point out the extent of debilitation the shot gave him.

Noted combat journalist Mike Coppinger additionally moved in to defend Garcia. “Ryan Garcia didn’t quit,” he argued, “far from it. He rose from a second-round knockdown and then was paralyzed by a perfectly placed liver shot from an elite fighter. Garcia now returns to 140 as the division’s biggest star where more big fights await.”