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What next for Ryan Garcia? Five opponents he could face, including Tank Davis

'KingRy' has been linked with fights against some of the biggest names in the division and Oscar De La Hoya wants him to win a world title in 2022.

Ryan Garcia returned with a points win over Emmanuel Tagoe, ending 15 months out of the ring.

The 23-year-old was regarded as the biggest prospect in world boxing but has been left behind since he last defeated Luke Campbell at the beginning of 2021.

Teofimo Lopez tasted a shock defeat to George Kambosos Jr, Vasyl Lomachenko is in Ukraine protecting his country from an invasion by Russia and Gervonta Davis continues to miss out on the biggest fights possible.

Garcia insists he wants to become world champion this year. If that's the case, he will have to wait for the winner of Kambosos vs Devin Haney, who meet in June to determine the lightweight undisputed champion.

Below, we assess five opponents Garcia could face next.

JoJo Diaz

Diaz (32-2-1, 15 KO) would be a good opponent for Garcia should he miss out on the biggest names at lightweight.
The American is a former world champion at super featherweight and has proved he is no fool, having gone the distance and not looked too out of place against Devin Haney.
Diaz always comes for a battle and stylistically, these two could serve up an entertaining fight.

Tank Davis

Tank is set to face Rolly Romero on May 28 and should he win as expected, there are huge fights out there for him. More interestingly, Davis has suggested it will be his last fight under Mayweather Promotions.
Davis has not been impressed by the way Mayweather Promotions have promoted his upcoming fight and from the outside, they seem to be the team blocking mega-fights for him.
But just because he may leave Mayweather Promotions, it doesn't necessarily mean that he will move from Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions.
But if he does, he'll have a queue of promoters wanting to sign him, including Matchroom Boxing, Top Rank and Golden Boy.

It means a fight between Garcia and Davis is closer than ever and Oscar De La Hoya is determined to make the fight happen on DAZN.

Devin Haney

Haney recently left Matchroom Boxing and joined Top Rank boxing on a two-fight deal and should he overcome George Kambosos Jr to become undisputed champion, then he may have to fight him again with a rematch clause included.

With Haney signed under Bob Arum, it does suggest a potential fight against Garcia is very unlikely to happen in 2022.

The pair have history though having fought four times in the amateurs. Both have won two fights and in 2021, Garcia had the chance to face Haney for the WBC title but it failed to materialise.

George Kambosos Jr

The Australian is the top dog of the lightweight division after outpointing Teofimo Lopez in November to win three of the four major world titles.
Kambosos Jr will finally fight on home turf having been the away fighter throughout his career. He will take on Haney in Melbourne and it could be the biggest attended boxing event in Australia's history.

Should he beat Haney, Kambosos Jr is hoping to fight Vasyl Lomachenko next. But if it cannot get made, then Garcia is certainly a name Kambosos Jr will consider.

Maxi Hughes

Hughes has been sensational over the last couple of years. He is on a run of six wins, including a shock points win over Mexican fighter Jovanni Straffon in September.
'Maximus' is the current IBO lightweight titleholder and promoter Eddie Hearn is desperate to secure him a big payday. The Matchroom man has even proposed a fight between Hughes and Garcia.
Hearn said in a recent interview: "I called [Golden Boy president] Eric Gomez the other day. I said, 'Let's bring Ryan Garcia to the UK.' We've got this young fighter called Maxi Hughes who won his IBO title against Straffon, (and) defended it against Ryan Walsh. I want to give this kid a big opportunity.
"Let's do this big outdoor event in Yorkshire. Bring Ryan Garcia. It will be wild."

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