Ryan Garcia A Quitter? Tim Bradley Says He Is, Debate Continues

Tim Bradley is calling out Ryan Garcia.

The Hall of Fame fighter-turned-ESPN commentator has never been known for holding back, both as a fighter and behind the mic. Garcia is the latest to be dished a serving of steaming Bradley soup.

Bradley believes the star boxer quit in his Showtime Pay-Per-View fight against Gervonta Davis on April 22, which ended with a left hand to the body in the seventh round.

Recently, Showtime released ALL ACCESS: Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia Epilogue as part of their in-depth, behind-the-scenes series that details pre and post-bout festivities. In this rendition, Garcia revealed in a conversation with now-ex-trainer Joe Goossen that he didn’t want to keep fighting him after taking the brutal shot to the body.

Julio Cesar Chavez Sr, and now Tim Bradley have called Ryan Garcia a quitter. Esther Lin photo

Garcia Provides Contradicting Statements

Goossen: “Did it hit that rib part at all, Ryan?”

Garcia: “Yeah. Yeah.”

Goossen: “I knew it.”

Ryan Garcia: “I didn’t wanna continue because of my rib.”

This contradicts the statement Garcia provided at the post-fight press conference.

“He just caught me with a good shot. I don’t want to make any excuses in here. He caught me with a good shot, and I just couldn’t recover, and that’s it,” Garcia said after the fight. “He caught me with a good body shot, snuck under me, and caught me good.”

“I couldn’t breathe. I was going to get back up, but I just couldn’t get up.”

Tim Bradley Takes Aim At Ryan Garcia

Bradley (33-2-1, 14 KOs) won world titles at junior welterweight and welterweight during his 12-year career. He didn’t necessarily require Showtime’s fancy camera work to help him formulate his opinion.

Tim Bradley, tough fighter, and tough pundit, too

“He quit. I’m just like any other fighter out there. There’s no doubt about it,” Bradley told ESPN’s Max Kellerman. “Listen to me. If you can get up at 11, why can’t you get up at 9? If you can look up, you can get up, Max, and he chose not to.

“Yes, Ryan Garcia quit, but you can also say, ‘Was it smart for him to basically quit?’ You can say that, too, because trust me he did not want to end up on the ESPN top 10 highlights because trust me. If he had got up, he would have been taken out because Tank Davis is one of the best finishers in boxing.”

Bradley implied that the paralyzing shot tested Garcia’s toughness to see if he truly had that dog in him, but he folded. By the way, others are piling on, calling Ryan Garcia a quitter.

“Garcia Could Have Gotten Up”

“It would have taken a dog to get up from that shot,” Bradley continued.

Gayle Falkenthal filed fight night report on Ryan Garcia loss for NYFIGHTS

“You’ve got to be a dog, and people appreciate a dog inside the ring. It’s what you signed up for. Yes, [Garcia] could have gotten up. What it comes down to is ‘what are you doing this for’ because that changes your perception when you’re in that ring. This is the fight that [Garcia] wanted. This is the fight that you barked up. You got to show up, you got to show out, and you got to put it all on the line.”

Ryan Garcia (23-1, 19 KOs), who also got decked by Davis in the second round from a monstrous straight left hand, was dealing with a lingering injury suffered during a sparring session against Tsendbaatar Erdenebat (6-0, 3 KOs). The 2016 Olympian said in a viral video that he was fired from Garcia’s camp and went home with half of his salary after landing a left hand that reportedly sent Garcia to the hospital.