Ryan Garcia v Oscar Duarte Betting Tips
Ryan Garcia returns to the ring in December for the first time since losing his unbeaten record to Gervonta Davis in April.
Garcia was stopped by Davis in the seventh round in his last outing and will now face Oscar Duarte as he begins a rebuild.
The 25-year-old has a difficult assignment for the start of his comeback as Duarte boasts an impressive record.
The Mexican has 26 wins (21 KOs), one draw and one defeat – a split decision loss – and he comes into this match-up seeking to extend an 11-fight winning run.
Garcia’s meeting with Davis in a catchweight contest was seen by some as a showdown to determine the new ‘Face of Boxing’. Their paths may well cross again at some point in the future but, first, he has a bit of work to do to restore his reputation.
‘King Ry’ impressed at various stages against Davis and recovered well after being dropped in the second round but a clever – and devastating – body shot from close range in the seventh saw him lose for the first time in his career as he was unable to beat the referee’s count.
In the immediate aftermath Garcia was heavily criticised by some members of the boxing community, who felt that he had decided not to continue and quit – now he has a few questions to answer.
Tip 1: Fight To Go The Distance – 7/4
Duarte has built an impressive record but he does not have any particularly big names on his CV aside from Adrian Estrella and Alex Martin. This is clearly a step up in class for the 27-year-old.
However, outside of a split decision loss to Estrella, he has passed every test he has faced in his career and has picked up 21 victories inside the distance in 28 fights. Duarte’s one defeat came on points and he has never been knocked down himself, so he is clearly a durable fighter.
Duarte presses his opponents and fights on the front foot whenever possible. He boasts plenty of power as he has a knockout-to-win ratio of over 80% – by taking on the Parral native, Garcia is perhaps sending a message to his detractors that he did not quit against Davis.
Garcia has developed a reputation as a bit of a knockout specialist, with 19 of his 23 wins coming inside the distance, but Duarte may be able to keep this clash closer than the odds suggest.
It is always hard to judge how a boxer will respond to losing their unbeaten record, particularly when they are stopped in the manner that Garcia was against Davis.
Duarte is an aggressive fighter who likes to try to close the space and keep his opponents under pressure. Now Garcia is campaigning at light-welterweight, he no longer has the same kind of height and reach advantages he has enjoyed in previous fights. Duarte is, in fact, the slightly bigger of the two men here.
These factors suggest that this is a bout that may well require the full 12 rounds to decide and there is value in backing both the fight to go the distance and picking a winner on points.
As Garcia has only been stopped by Davis – who sits eighth on Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound list – and Duarte has never lost inside the distance the 7/4 on offer for this clash to go the distance looks an excellent starting point.
Back the fight to go the distance
Tip 2: Ryan Garcia To Win By Decision – 3/1
The winner of this contest in Houston will potentially be in line for a title shot in their next bout and Garcia can grasp the opportunity.
Losing to Davis is no disgrace, and the problems he faced against ‘Tank’ will not have to be navigated here. Davis was able to use his smaller stature and speed to get inside and land some huge body shots – but Duarte is a bit more predictable and bigger.
As such, Garcia should be able to use his superior movement to avoid taking too much punishment and he has excellent accuracy himself. It is worth remembering that he did land some decent punches of his own in that meeting with Davis, and the southpaw from Baltimore is a far harder target to pin down than Duarte should be.
Duarte is a tough competitor and, based on his record and previous performances, he deserves to be fighting at the very top level – but this bout may prove to be that one step too far at this point in his career so backing Garcia to claim a decision win at 3/1 appeals.
