Looks like Ryan Garcia vs. Luke Campbell is happening

Ryan Garcia (20-0, 17KOs) wants better fight purses, which means he needs to face better opposition.

Apparently, Garcia has agreed to a WBC interim title bout against former Olympic gold medalist from the UK, Luke Campbell (20-3, 16KOs). World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman said, “Golden Boy Promotions has confirmed Ryan Garcia’s participation in the fight [versus] Luke Campbell.” The winner will be slated to face current WBC Lightweight Champion Emeritus, Devin “The Dream” Haney (24-0, 15KOs).

Now, Garcia’s and Campbell’s promoters will need to come to an agreement on a potential bout.

Campbell is a dangerous opponent for Garcia, as he is a slick, tall southpaw with plenty of experience. The former gold medalist competed strongly against Jorge Linares and Vasyl Lomachenko. Despite losing decisions to both fighters, many fans were impressed by the resistance that Campbell displayed in those two fights. He is a real test for Garcia, and few believed that Garcia would face such a difficult fighter at this stage in his young 20-fight career. Campbell made it difficult, even for a pound-for-pound talent like Lomachenko, to get inside and land punches.

A slick southpaw with world championship and Olympic experience is a dangerous proposition for Garcia. So far, he has not faced any fighter that poses the kinds of skills and intangibles that Campbell possesses.

It’s great to see that Garcia wants to step up and fight solid competition. Garcia is coming off his toughest fight of this year, which was a personal rift between him and Oscar De La Hoya regarding a July fight purse. Garcia wanted more money, but Golden Boy couldn’t meet his demands. Now that Garcia is going to face world-championship-level competition, he will receive top-level purses. A maturation process could be beneficial for the young phenom, but such a process would delay big purses. He just wants to be paid more, and being in notable fights is a solution to that problem. Beating Campbell will earn Garcia respect, and he’ll be viewed as a world-class fighter.