Boxing
9. Annual advertisement in the AC Boxing Hall of Fame boxing hall
“I want to fight so bad to fight 😩 I feel even more now that I have the belt. CHAMPION wants to fight. SOMEONE RUNS THE SCRAP” said Ryan Garcia on X.
Ryan probably talks a lot so as not to get stuck in a mandatory defense that pays a pittance. By demanding Conor Benn or celebrity rematches, he forces the hand of his promoters.
The reality is that Ryan holds the WBC belt, but the division is currently a waiting game. If someone like Turki Alalshikh doesn’t find Benn worth the investment despite his struggles with Regis Prograis, Ryan could be in for a close fight, which he definitely doesn’t want.
If Ryan had a “fight anyone, anywhere” mentality, he wouldn’t be in this situation. “Sugar Ray Robinson” would have already signed a contract to fight the most perilous guy available to prove his point.
Ryan’s current situation is a perfect example of a player falling into the trap of his own financial expectations. Because he has such a huge fan base, he feels like he can’t make a “normal” title defense if it wasn’t a blockbuster event.
It’s telling that Ryan’s interest in Benn increased right after Benn appeared to be the one to beat against Regis Prograis on April 11. It’s a business-first attitude. He is looking for the highest payout with the least technical risk.
Rejecting Rolly Romero as an option but going after the guy whose eyes the 37-year-old Prograis just slashed, Ryan shows his hand. He wants a name he thinks he can easily beat.
They can find a recent ponderous hitter who will knock out 15 players and call him “the next Berlanga.” They can find a hunky boxer and market him as “the next Hitchins.”
By doing it in-house, they control the narrative and, more importantly, the costs. DiBella argues that if Zuffa’s model works, the days of a fighter like Berlanga managing “overpaid” portfolios will be gone because the system will simply produce a cheaper version of the same “asset.”
“I have to be truthful with you, I don’t think it makes any difference. If that’s the case [Zuffa Boxing] doing things the right way, these guys are largely irrelevant,” DiBella said to Ariel Helwani.
“No offense to Richardson. He’s a good fighter. In five years, no one will care about Richardson Hitchins or Berlanga. It doesn’t matter.”
Berlanga faced the harshest criticism. DiBella pointed out how his early series was structured and how it shaped perceptions.
“There may be no fighter in the history of boxing, and this is a tribute to Keith Connolly, a little tribute to Berlanga, and a little tribute to Top Rank, who understood that you can take an average fighter and feed him 15 ham sandwiches and knock him out. After 15 ham sandwiches, he’s 15-0 with 15 knockouts.”
When talking about Berlanga, Dibella describes a guy whose entire reputation was built on a padded board designed to look spectacular on paper.
“So a little tribute to everyone. Berlanga is the most overpaid fighter, one of the most overpaid fighters in the history of boxing,” DiBella said.
Ryan Garcia is calling for his next fight after winning the WBC title
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