Ryan Garcia Says Oscar Duarte Was Harder Than Tank Davis
Ryan Garcia put Oscar Duarte above tank davis on his personal difficulty scale, saying Duarte was the hardest fight of his career. The 27-year-old told DAZN he needed all eight rounds to get past Duarte, even though Garcia was knocked out by Davis in 2023.
Garcia Elevates Duarte Over Davis
Garcia was blunt: "My hardest fight was Oscar Duarte – the one that Richardson Hitchins ducked. I knocked him out, but he was hard." That puts Duarte ahead of a fight many had assumed would sit at the top of the list because Davis stopped Garcia with a body shot in the seventh round at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles.
The comparison lands because the two fights ended in very different ways. Davis beat Garcia by knockout in 2023, while Garcia had to work through all eight rounds before securing a TKO over Duarte later that same year.
Duarte Replaced Hitchins
Duarte’s path into that fight added another layer. He was originally scheduled to face IBF world super-lightweight champion Richardson Hitchins, but Hitchins withdrew on fight day because of weight management issues under the IBF’s 10lb rehydration clause. Duarte stepped in as the replacement opponent and entered the ring as the then-26-1-1 fighter.
Garcia’s description also keeps Duarte in the conversation as a meaningful name in his run, not just a late substitute. The fight required Garcia to survive eight rounds of pressure before the TKO came, a different type of challenge than the shorter, cleaner end he experienced against Davis.
Garcia Looks Beyond Davis
Garcia is still defending his WBC welterweight title and has already called out Shakur Stevenson and Teofimo Lopez for potential matchups. For now, though, his own ranking of his toughest opponent places Duarte at the top, with Davis second in the memory of his recent career.
That leaves Duarte with added attention going into this Saturday, when he fights Angel Fierro on the Gilberto Ramirez vs David Benavidez undercard. Garcia’s comment has shifted the way his recent stretch is being judged: not by the knockout loss to Davis alone, but by the eight rounds he needed to edge Duarte.
