Ryan Garcia has maintained his desire to face one potential opponent, who he believes is more like a “puppy” than a “monster”.
The 27-year-old is coming off arguably a career-best victory over Mario Barrios, who he dethroned with a unanimous decision victory after scoring a first-round knockdown.
In doing so, Garcia became the WBC world welterweight champion in his first outing since losing a unanimous decision to Rolando Romero last May.
That defeat followed his year-long drugs suspension, which the American was forced to serve after testing positive for banned substance ostarine in April 2024.
Not only that, but his majority decision victory over Devin Haney was overturned to a no-contest, with Garcia’s latest result representing his first triumph since an eighth-round finish over Oscar Duarte in 2023.
Unsurprisingly, he then called out Shakur Stevenson shortly after defeating Barrios last month, having previously exchanged words with the four-division world champion via social media.
Stevenson claimed his WBO super-lightweight title with a dominant performance against Teofimo Lopez in January, but has since expressed his interest in moving back down to 135lbs for a potential clash with Lamont Roach.
In response to such comments, a frustrated Garcia has taken to YouTube and shared his thoughts on the 28-year-old’s status in the sport.
“I really wanted to fight Shakur. You’re not the best, bro. You’re not even showing that you’re like that.
“There’s a lot of guys that are monsters. You’re not a monster; you’re like a puppy.”
Garcia and Stevenson had previously discussed meeting at a catchweight of 144lbs, but the latter has more recently mentioned former world champion Roach as a possible opponent for his next outing, preferring to stick to 140 or even drop back to 135 – two weights Garcia is unlikely to make again.
