Ryan Garcia is set to challenge for the welterweight world title in two weeks’ time, but there is one former 147lb world champion who believes he will be able ‘eat him up like a Tic Tac’ if they meet down the line.
‘King Ry’ famously overcame Devin Haney in April 2024, only for his career-best win to be overturned to a no-contest due to Ostarine being found in his system.
After a one-year ban, Garcia returned last May in a fight for the vacant WBA welterweight title against Rolando Romero, but despite entering as the favourite, Garcia fell well short of expectations and came away from the contest empty-handed.
Now, Garcia has yet another shot at welterweight honours, as the 27-year-old seeks to get back on track and move on from a difficult couple of years by overcoming WBC champion Mario Barrios to set up major title fights in a stacked welterweight division.
However, in an interview with Fight Hub TV, former unified welterweight ruler Keith Thurman played down the quality of the 147lb scene and claimed that he would eat up all of the top players at the weight ‘like Tic Tacs’.
“You consider him [Garcia} as a welterweight puncher? You think Ryan has got a bigger punch than Ennis had?
“He drops lightweights, he hasn’t fought real welterweights. Is there even a real welterweight in the welterweight division? I think that Conor Benn is the only real welterweight left at 147lbs. This new welterweight game is lightweights moving up.
“There is no O.G. 147lber at 147 and, with that, I can’t give Ryan the credit [as a puncher] that you are trying to give him.”
“I could eat ‘em all up like Tic Tacs.”
Barrios-Garcia takes place on Saturday, February 21, at the T-Mobile Arena, whilst Thurman bids for Sebastian Fundora’s WBC super-welterweight crown on March 28.
