On Tuesday, Ryan Garcia took to Instagram to let his 8.8 million followers know he's coming back in October and fighting in Los Angeles. But the proverbial million-dollar question is, who will "KingRy" face in his return?
After his unanimous decision win over Javier Fortuna in July to capture the interim WBC lightweight title, Jo Jo Diaz (32-1-1, 15 KOs) made it clear he wanted Garcia or WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney next. Diaz and Garcia's promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, says Garcia-Diaz is a fight he'd like to make at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
"He has 21 wins, 18 KOs, 80 something percent knockout ratio, he always comes to fight, he always comes to get a knockout," Barak said on Wednesday's The DAZN Boxing Show. "The interesting thing about this is who he's going to pick? He does have that upper hand where he gets to make his own decision. Is it going to be Fortuna? Eddie Hearn, the other day said that he believes (it) is going to be Diaz (instead of his client Devin Haney) because he's a bigger name. I kind of agree with it. I think he's going to go with it with Joseph Diaz or somebody like that."
Barak's co-host, Ak, agrees with his partner that Diaz is the best course of action for the 22-year-old.
"If it is Jo Jo Diaz that he picks to fight, I'm not completely upset because he beat Fortuna," Ak said. "It might make the most sense for Ryan Garcia, maybe not for Devin. But for Ryan, it probably makes sense for him. (It is) less risky than a Devin Haney (fight). So we'll see what he picks."
Garcia hasn't fought since coming off the deck for the first time in his career to stop Luke Campbell in the seventh round at the beginning of January. He was scheduled to face Fortuna in July but pulled out to manage his health and well-being. Now, Garcia is back in the gym and ready to return.
Haney (26-0) fought at the end of May, defeating former three-division world champion Jorge Linares via unanimous decision. He's been in search of a big fight, and taking on Garcia would fit the bill.