Ryan Garcia took to social media recently to crown himself the most impressive fighter of 2026.
The 28-year-old welterweight world champion won his first major belt in February by soundly outpointing Mario Barrios. Garcia’s first defence came in September, when he stopped Conor Benn inside two rounds.
Though the performances have been impressive, and some rivals like Devin Haney – not fought since November 2025 – and Shakur Stevenson – out of the ring since a win over Teofimo Lopez in January – have perhaps ruled themselves out of the discussion through inactivity, many feel others are more deserving.
O’Shaquie Foster has collected three belts in the super-featherweight division, beating Ray Ford and Emanuel Navarrete to make his case as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
David Benavidez moved up to cruiserweight to win the unified WBA and WBO belts when he became the first man to stop Gilberto Ramirez, and attempts to add the WBC belt to his collection against Michal Cieslak in December.
Across the pond, Daniel Dubois won and defended the IBF heavyweight world title in a thrilling two-fight rivalry with Fabio Wardley, and Dalton Smith has beaten both Subriel Matias and Alberto Puello to secure his place amongst the top fighters in the super-lightweight ranks.
Regardless of all those who have their own argument in the debate, Terence Crawford – Fighter of the Year 2025 for his win over Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez – has shot down Garcia’s claim, saying, “you not fighter of s**t, you trash.”
You not fighter of shit you trash. 😁
— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) October 28, 2026
Crawford and Garcia have been involved in a sustained back-and-forth, with the latter looking to draw the former out of retirement for a fight. Despite ‘Bud’s latest jab, it remains unlikely that he returns for the fight.
