"Superstar" Ryan Garcia stops Oscar Duarte

Fittingly accompanied to the ring by Lupe Fiasco crooning his hit of yesteryears “Superstar,” Ryan Garcia lived up to that title by electrifyingly stopping determined Mexican Oscar Duarte in Houston.

After a devastating knockout defeat to Gervonta Davis, Garcia could have taken an easier opponent, but showed his confidence by accepting the powerful Duarte for his comeback, notwithstanding his first bout with new trainer Derrick James in his corner.  There did not seem to be an empty seat in Toyota Center’s first boxing match in two and a half years.

That being said, the crowd was noticeably split between fans of Garcia and Mexican fans, with noticeably split reactions to both in the fighter introductions. This proved true soon after as dueling “Ryan” and “Oscar” chants broke out within seconds of the opening bell.

There was an air of tension in the arena, as Duarte stalked Garcia with vicious intent as Garcia showed flashy footwork by staying away. It was apparent that Garcia had to fight the perfect tactical boxing match, as Duarte did not come to lose and had a reputation of being powerful and iron-chinned. Duarte (26-2-1, 21 KO) landed the first noticeable punch of the bout, a right cross, only to be smashed by a Garcia (24-1, 20 KO) uppercut soon after. Garcia showed newfound discipline by jabbing and moving most of the first round, with an uppercut and left hook to close the round.

The second round was more of the same, with Garcia again landing an uppercut right cross combination twice in the round, with Duarte landing a right cross and left hook to the body.

The third round was all Garcia, as he landed a combination, two right crosses, and a 1-2.

In the fourth, Garcia landed two 1-2 combinations as the crowd again began thunderous “Ryan” and “Duarte” chants. The referee seemed to be giving Duarte a hard time, warning him about every body punch, frustrating the fans. Also, Garcia showed a new wrinkle to his game, a hybrid of a Philly shell and a shoulder roll.

Garcia really opened up in round five, as he landed an early combination, two right crosses, an uppercut right cross combination. But Duarte closed the round stronger with a two punch combination followed by two left hooks to the body. Garcia landed the only noticeable blows of round six, an uppercut right hook combination and another three punch combination later in the round.

In the seventh round, bringing back memories of his promoter Oscar De La Hoya against Felix Trinidad decades ago, Garcia flabbergastingly circled around the ring for the entirety of the round, only landing one significant punch in the 180 second frame. It seemed he suffered an injury of some sort, as he burned up a lot of energy if his intention was to take the round off.

Round eight saw Garcia again on the move, but out of nowhere he landed a speedy right cross that froze the normally iron-chinned Duarte. With the instincts of a lion, he jumped all over his prey with a dizzyingly fast combination and sent Duarte to a knee. Duarte made the mistake of rising at the count of nine, as the referee stopped it even though one second was left in the count. One wonders why he counted at all.

The fans erupted in euphoria and unlike most boxing matches, stuck around in unison to hear Garcia’s post-fight interview. This was a result of a noticeably different audience demographic, a younger fanbase than is normally seen at boxing matches, which is a total credit to Garcia’s self-promotion on social media.

Garcia stated his next target is fellow youngster Rolando Romero, who was outboxed by forty-year-old Venezuelan Ismael Barroso in his previous bout before being handed a stoppage by normally reputable referee Tony Weeks. This would surely be a box office bonanza, as the loud-mouthed Romero sells a fight like a new-age Ricardo Mayorga.

Also waiting in the wings at ringside was Golden Boy’s newest signee, tough-as-nails Arnold Barboza. This would be an even riskier opponent, as he is more polished, bigger, and stronger than Duarte. Regardless, the world is Garcia’s oyster, as the old phrase goes.

Undercard notes:

A new superstar was born, as Floyd Schofield electrified the arena with four first-round knockdowns in a 101-second fight. The baby-faced twenty-one-year-old lightweight had a lot of hype behind him and surpassed expectations in the most exhilarating performance from a prospect in recent memory.

Within seconds of the bell, a leaping left hook from Schofield (16-0, 12 KO) sent hapless opponent Ricardo Lopez (17-8-3, 12 KO) to the mat. He rose, only to be hit with another left hook which again sent him to the canvas. He again rose only to be sent down with a jab. A sane referee would have stopped the massacre, but Torres was allowed to continue only to be knocked down again and mercifully the bout was stopped. In the post-fight elation, Schofield called out promotional stablemate Joseph Diaz, and questioned if Diaz would even dare to step in the same ring as him after this performance. The veteran Diaz would probably bristle at such commentary, and it would be the age old prospect against veteran matchup in boxing.

When the name Joshua Conley was announced as Shane Mosely Jr’s opponent, boxing insiders at ringside raised their eyebrows, as he is a boxer with experience against top competition and good boxing skills.

The bout followed a similar pattern, Mosely Jr (21-4, 12 KO) would land more punches, but Conley (17-6-1, 12 KO) would land one or two a round that got the oohs and aahs of the crowd. In round sixth, Mosely finally seemed to crack the code as he landed four right crosses, but Conley fought back and closed the round stronger with two left hooks. Strangely, the bout was stopped a few seconds later, all the more odd as Conley finished the round stronger with his best punches of the fight. One can only assume that veteran Southern California trainer Henry Ramirez knew something the audience didn’t, as the timing can simply be described as dubious.

One truly wishes that a person like Mosely Jr., who grew up with the financial advantages that only the top 1% of society has, would use the head start that being the son of Shane Mosely afforded him to pursue life avenues that don’t involve being punched in the head.

Local super middleweight prospect Darius Fulghum (9-0, 9 KO) a recent nursing graduate of nearby Prairie View A&M University, stopped fellow Pachino Hill (8-5-1, 6 KO)in the second round as he unloaded an array of punches, giving the referee no choice but to save Hill from further punishment. Official time was fifty-four seconds. This was Fulghum’s sixth victory in 2023, and boxing insiders and fans alike look forward to his progress in 2024.