By: Hans Themistode
At times, it’s hard to see exactly what’s happening.
Fans of lightweight contender Ryan Garcia frantically search for their remotes whenever he steps foot inside of the ring. Once found, they immediately press the slow down button to catch exactly what happened.
For Garcia, the California native has become known for overwhelming his opponents with blinding speed but also power. A trait that his latest opponent in Francisco Fonseca learned the hard way. After wobbling his man with a left hook within the first minute of their fight early this year, Garcia (20-0, 17 KOs) closed the show a few seconds with the same punch.
Again, in real-time, the fight-ending shot was hard to spot. For perennial contender Luke Campbell, he’s spent plenty of time hitting the rewind and slowdown buttons during many of Garcia’s bouts as he educates himself on what’s to come when the two face off later on tonight at the American Airlines Center, in Dallas Texas.
Campbell (20-3, 16 KOs) admits that the speed is impressive, but he has one simplistic game plan to counter that.
“Timing beats speed,” said Campbell during a recent interview with FightHype.
Garcia’s main attribute might be his trademark speed but with four straight knockout wins under his belt, Campbell isn’t underestimating his power. With that said, the British native doesn’t believe that he’s a feather fisted fighter.
“I’d be a fool not to respect what brings but I believe I have power in both hands.”
For Campbell, the multiple-time title challenger is attempting to erase the second place stigma currently surrounding his career. With three losses plastered on his record against the likes of Yvan Mendy, Jorge Linares and Vasiliy Lomachenko – Campbell, by and large, is viewed as good, but not good enough.
Those losses however, took place at a different time in his life. At the age of 33, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist believes he’s a much different fighter.
“I’m more mature, I’m wise. I just believe that it’s my time.”