Oscar De La Hoya names the perfect fight for Ryan Garcia

The next move of Ryan Garcia is still unknown, but his promoter has recognised one fighter who could be ‘perfect’ for his man. 

Garcia has been inactive since losing to Rolly Romero earlier this year, but he has been linked to several high-profile fights in the first part of 2026 as he plots his next move. 

In 2024, Garcia appeared to be on the verge of big things when he produced the performance of his career to drop Devin Haney three times before winning comfortably on the scorecards. 

That elation was quickly eradicated when it was revealed that Garcia had failed a drug test in the build-up with the result being changed to a ‘No Contest. 

In his first fight back, Garcia’s performance over Haney looked to be a distant memory as he showed no signs of intent against Romero as he lost a wide points decision as well as being dropped in the second round. 

Now it looks like he could land a world title shot at welterweight next year with Mario Barrios, the WBC champion who recently drew with Manny Pacquiao, mentioned as a possible opponent. It is a fight that De La Hoya likes. 

“I think that’s the perfect fight for Ryan to come back to,” said De La Hoya when speaking to DAZN during their broadcast of Vergil Ortiz vs Erickson Lubin. 

“I think Barrios having a draw against the great Manny Pacquiao is a great thing, for Barrios. Mario [Barrios] vs Ryan Garcia makes a lot of sense. It’s for a world title and brings Ryan right back to that superstar stage.”