Family Affair: Victorville's Ryan and Sean Garcia eager to return to the ring in Houston

Ryan Garcia sees something familiar in his younger brother.

He noticed his brother has a chip on his shoulder and it’s exciting.

For the second time in their careers, the two brothers from Victorville will compete in a boxing ring on the same night as both return to action Saturday night in Houston.

The older Garcia takes on Oscar Duarte (26-1-1, 21 KOs) in the main event, while Sean Garcia will end a year-long layoff with a four-round bout against Joseph Johnson (3-1-1).

Sean Gracia’s bout will be a part of the preliminary action, which begins at 2 p.m.

“This is the most focused I have seen him. He's looking so sharp,” Ryan said during a pre-fight press conference Thursday afternoon.

Sean Garcia (6-0-1) last fought on Dec. 11, which resulted in a draw with Seung Ho Yang. The fight was held in South Korea as Manny Pacquiao fought an exhibition bout in the main event.

Since turning professional as a teenager in Tijuana in 2017, Sean Garcia has fought just a handful of times. But he has just as good an amateur pedigree as his older brother with multiple national championships to his name.

“I am so proud of him,” Ryan said about Sean. “You guys are now going to start paying attention to Sean as much as me. That's how sharp he's looking.”

Sean didn’t have much to say during the press conference other than noting how that he is ready for Saturday night.

“It’s good to be back. I feel good, and ready to go,” Sean said during the press conference. “I’ve trained hard for this fight. I got my mental back strong and it's better than ever.”

As for Ryan, he’s looking to end the year with a bang, nearly eight months after suffering the first loss of his career to Gervonta Davis.

Ryan, 25, will take on Duarte, who has won 11 consecutive fights since he lost a split decision to Adrian Estrella in 2019. Each of those bouts ended with a knockout.

“We've been putting a lot of work in,” he said during a press conference in Houston on Thursday afternoon. “Oscar is a tough opponent. I know he's going to come to fight. But I'm here to make an example to the 140-pound division. This is how I'm coming. This is the Ryan Garcia you're going to get.”

In front of a star-studded and sold-out crowd of 20,842 at the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas on April 22, Davis landed a short and sweet left hook to Ryan’s injured rib cage in the seventh round. Initially, the punch didn’t seem to hurt him much as he stepped back.

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Then, Ryan dropped to one knee. He (23-1, 19 KOs) was unable to beat the 10 count.

But Ryan wasn’t at full strength for the biggest night of his career, suffering a separated rib two weeks before the bout. He had no intentions of backing out of the fight to heal the injury and it paid off financially.

The fight with Davis generated over $100 million in revenue, which included $1.2 million in pay-per-view buys and a total ticket-price figure of $22.8 million, which is the fifth-highest gate ever for a fight in Nevada.

Ryan earned a $30 million purse for the bout.

But none of that seemed to matter for him. His competitive edge simply wasn’t there for the fight and it took a while for the feeling of defeat to settle in.

During a recent interview with Showtime’s Brian Custer, Ryan admitted he didn’t feel an ounce of sadness because he simply didn’t care.

“I was already pissed off about all the weight cut and I was mad because nobody from my team took that seriously. So when I lost I just didn’t care. I came in with a separated rib, all this stuff and I didn’t care,” he told Custer. “A little later I was like, I did lose. It happened and it hit me, ‘I’m never going to lose again.' I don’t want to lose again. I’m going to erase the things I was doing, I was not being a professional. Sometimes you’ve got to lose to realize you’ve got to make a change. It’s not fun and games, this is a real sport where you can get hurt.”

Following the loss, many have questioned Ryan’s desire in the ring. He even believes his promoters, Hall of Fame boxers Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins, are against him.

During the press conference, Ryan claimed that Golden Boy Promotions is “backing Duarte for the bout."

“I put everything into this fight,” he said. “For the first time, I’m extremely committed in a long time. 2021 was the time that kind of broke me. 2022, you know, changed me. 2023 opened my eyes and I’m about to come back, come back for everything. I’m just laser-focused.”

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What you need to know

• Ryan Garcia vs. Oscar Duarte live on DAZN

• When: Saturday (Preliminary bouts begin at 2 p.m., main card begins at 5 p.m.)

• Where: Toyota Center, Houston

• Division: Junior welterweight (140 pounds)

• At stake: No major titles

• Odds: Garcia 3½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)

• Also on the card: Floyd Schofield vs. Ricardo Torres, lightweights; Shane Mosley Jr. vs. Joshua Conley, middleweights; Darius Fulghum vs. Pachino Hill, super middleweights; Danilo Diez vs. Jose Valenzuela Alvarado, junior welterweights; Sean Garcia vs. Joseph Johnson, lightweights; Gael Cabrera vs. Alejandro Dominguez, bantamweights; Asa Stevens vs. Dominique Griffin, junior featherweights

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Victorville's Ryan and Sean Garcia eager to return to the ring