Former two division champion Ricky Hatton is not convinced that lightweight star Ryan Garcia is the real deal.
Garcia (20-0, 17 KOs) will have the biggest test of his career on Saturday, when he faces 2012 Olympic gold medal winner Luke Campbell.
The vacant WBC interim-lightweight title will be at stake – with the winner falling in line for a mandatory crack at full WBC champion Devon Haney.
Because of his massive following on Instragram, Garcia is still viewed by a lot of people as being a hyped up social media star.
Hatton is unsure if the hype is real, but he expects Campbell to sort out the details of that matter – proving Garcia’s real worth in the weight class.
Campbell has the edge in experience, with his amateur background and competitive decision losses in world title fights against Vasiliy Lomachenko and Jorge Linares.
“Campbell has been in there and done the world title rounds with Vasiliy Lomachenko and Jorge Linares and he is a tall southpaw. Ryan Garcia has so much hand speed and he is one of the biggest prospects in world boxing. But I don’t know if he has bitten off more than he can chew with Luke Campbell,” Hatton told The Sun.
“All the potential is there with Garcia but I don’t know if he has been tested yet and Luke Campbell could be a bridge too far. Garcia could well be all Instagram hype.
“He is a pretty boy and his hands are very fast and he is always on social media. But then so is someone like Floyd Mayweather and he is the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, because he backed it up. Garcia might be able to back it up too and then he could be the real deal.”
