Ryan Garcia beats Oscar Duarte by stoppage and calls out rival Rolando Romero to world title fight
RYAN GARCIA beat Oscar Duarte by stoppage in the eighth round before calling for a world title shot.
The American superstar was returning for the first time since defeat to Gervonta Davis in April.
And he did so with victory over Duarte in their 143lb catchweight contest in Houston Texas.
Garcia, 25, trapped Duarte, 27, in the corner and unleashed a barrage of shots to force the Mexican to the floor.
Duarte was making his way to his feet when the referee waved the bout off to declare Garcia the winner.
Garcia called to fight old rival Romero for the WBA super-lightweight title.
He said: “I’m committing to becoming a world champion.
“If Rollies wants that, bring it on Rollies. I know you talk a lot. Let’s get that going, Rollies. Where you at?
“You got beat up by that old dude. We know what happened. Don’t be trying to fake it.”
Romero, 28, won the title with a controversial stoppage against Venezuelan veteran Ismael Barroso, 40, in May.
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Barroso was due to feature on Garcia’s undercard in a fight for the “interim” title but opponent Ohara Davies, 31, suffered visa issues.
Romero, currently out injured, cryptically responded to Garcia in a series of messages on X, formerly Twitter.
He posted: “What the f*** did I just watch?”
Romero followed it up with: “Rolly by murder in the first.”