Jake Paul isn’t sure what’s gotten into Ryan Garcia, but if a fight is really what the former WBC interim lightweight champion wants, Paul is more than happy to oblige.
Garcia called out Paul with an aggressive series of social media posts on Saturday following Paul’s first-round knockout victory over Ryan Bourland. Garcia demanded to fight Paul and promised to end Paul’s professional boxing career for “disrespecting my sport.”
Paul responded to Garcia’s comments at his post-fight press conference.
“Ryan, I love you. You know that, bro. But you’ve got to chill out,” Paul said, “because there’s a line and you just seem like you’re losing your mind, and acting thirsty and desperate and saying you’re a billionaire when you had one money fight. I’m just saying, just chill, bro. But if you do want to fight, that’s, to me, light work. You’ve got no footwork. And as long as you’ve been in the game, I’m a better boxer than you.”
“Ryan Garcia is basically playing the Jake Paul playbook,” added Paul’s business partner, Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian. “He’s learning everything that he does and says and acts from what Jake Paul has already done.”
Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) is scheduled to face Devin Haney in a much-anticipated bout for the WBC super lightweight title on April 20. The 25-year-old fighter has demonstrated plenty of erratic behavior in the press tour ahead of his upcoming showdown — behavior which led Paul to accuse Garcia of illicit drug use when confronted with Garcia’s comments on Saturday. Garcia is also significantly smaller than Paul — the Haney bout is contested at 140 pounds, whereas Paul’s win over Bourland was contested at 200 pounds. However, Garcia would represent, by far, the most experienced boxing opponent Paul has fought.
Paul (9-1, 6 KOs) crushed Bourland with ease on Saturday, stopping his overmatched foe with a barrage of punches in the closing stages of the opening round. It was Paul’s second straight victory over an opponent with notable boxing experience following his first-round knockout of Andre August in December. Afterward, Paul reiterated his desire to one day challenge Canelo Alvarez and pledged to continue testing himself against opposition with greater boxing résumés than himself. In that respect, Garcia would certainly fit the bill.
“I felt good. I felt really sharp, fast, locked in. But I was just getting warmed up really, and I’m kind of disappointed, to be honest. I want more,” Paul said of his win. “I want a challenge. We had someone with 20 fights, and I just keep on getting these guys out of there in the first round. But I trained so hard that it is a little bit disappointing, and for the fans as well. I want someone to test me so I can make some adjustments and show some of my new skill. I didn’t really get to show anything, but I did feel good. I just wanted more.
“I’m going to stay as active as possible,” Paul added. “It’s just about finding the right opponents. This is my life now. It’s a lifestyle and I’ll be back hopefully two more times before the end of the year.”
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