Ryan Garcia has the potential to be one of boxing’s next superstars but first he must prove his worth in the ring with Luke Campbell a huge test for the American.
The Briton is a gold medallist and has pushed Jorge Linares close, as well as taking Vasyl Lomachenko the distance.
This will provide us with tremendous context as to how good Garcia is, especially as his promoter Oscar De La Hoya, now without Canelo Alvarez, who trains alongside Garcia under Chepo Reynoso, will consider Garcia his next big star.
Campbell, too, is taking a big risk, and will know defeat here will set him back and leave him with a long road back towards challenging for a world title.
The winner could face the likes of Gervonta Davis, another star at lightweight, which also has a new king in Teofimo Lopez, who upset Lomachenko in 2020, while Devin Haney is also highly rated, leaving numerous excellent fights in the works for 2021 and beyond.
Here’s everything you need to know about the fight for the interim WBC lightweight title:
When and where is the fight?
The fight is set for Saturday, 2 January at American Airlines Center, Dallas, United States.
What time is the fight and when are the ring walks?
The fight will start around 11pm GMT, much earlier than the usual fights that take place in America.
We can expect the ring walks any time from 10:30pm GMT onwards.
What TV channel is the fight on and is there a live stream?
The fight is on DAZN in the UK, United States and Canada. You can sign up in the UK here with the cost set at £1.99 per month. While in the United States and Canada you can pay $9.99 per month.
What fights are on the undercard?
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Rene Alvarado vs Roger Gutierrez
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Felix Alvarado vs DeeJay Kriel
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Raul Curiel vs Ramses Agaton
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Franchon Crews Dezurn vs Ashleigh Curry
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Alex Rincon vs Sergio Lucio Gonzalez
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Sean Garcia vs Rene Marquez
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Asa Stevens vs Francisco Bonilla
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Tristan Kalkreuth vs Jorge Armando Martinez
Odds
Garcia: 2/7
Campbell: 13/5
Draw: 18/1
Prediction
Garcia is explosive and carries power, but Campbell can take a shot, this fight should therefore go deep.
The Briton can box and move nicely and has nice timing, while he has been known to go the body, which should give Garcia some hesitation when loading up.
We’re opting for a close fight and Garcia to just edge this on points.
What are the fighters saying?
Garcia: “I feel bad for Luke. He’s just the first one of my opponents that’s going to get it bad. I’m older, stronger, and coming into myself. I already felt I was coming into myself for the Fonseca fight. I was on a roll and ready to takeover. God said how it was supposed to be. I cannot wait to punish Luke Campbell. I want to break his eye. I want to break his bones. I want to break everything off of him.”
