Oscar De La Hoya on Ryan Garcia: ‘We’ll definitely pick a top-5, top-10 guy (next)’

Oscar De La Hoya acknowledged that Ryan Garcia’s performance on Saturday wasn’t perfect but he was pleased nonetheless.

The Hall of Fame fighter-turned-promoter gave Garcia “a B, B+” for his unanimous-decision victory over reluctant Emmanuel Tagoe on Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio given Garcia’s 15-month layoff, the result of mental health concerns and a recent hand injury.

Garcia also was fighting for the first time with new trainer Joe Goossen in his corner.

“Considering the layoff, the broken hand, the mental struggle he was going through … I’m glad he got the experience he needed. It was a difficult fight. I give him a B, B+,” De La Hoya told Boxing Junkie.

Garcia (22-0, 18 KOs) has many of the qualities necessary to become a superstar but his punching power might stand out, particularly after he stopped Luke Campbell with a single body shot in his previous fight.

That’s why some people might’ve been disappointed that he couldn’t find a way to take out Tagoe, a good, experienced boxer who fought in survival mode.

De La Hoya wasn’t among them, although he agreed with Garcia’s assessment that he could’ve done a better job of cutting off the ring.

“Not at all,” he said. “I’m glad he was able to go 12 rounds. The most important thing is that he held up perfectly. The hand didn’t bother him, mentally he was in the fight. He was ready. You can imagine being so young (23) and going through the issues he faced and then getting 15,000 people to see you fight.

“… There was a lot of pressure and he handled it excellently. He could’ve cracked at any moment but he didn’t.”

De La Hoya said that Goossen also was happy with Garcia’s performance.

“Joe was very pleased,” he said. “He was telling me that he wanted Ryan to, first of all, get through the fight because you just didn’t know how he was going to react after a 15-month layoff. He said, “Now we can really go to work, really get to know each other.’

“Now Joe is going to press on the accelerator and push Ryan to his limits.”

Against whom?

One name that continually comes up is Gervonta Davis, the gifted lightweight contender. De La Hoya likes the idea of pursuing that matchup for Garcia … but not in his next fight.

He said he’s targeting a top-5 contender without saying who that might be. Garcia was scheduled to face former junior lightweight titleholder Joseph Diaz Jr. in this past November before he pulled out because of the hand injury, which required surgery.

Garcia, who went on to lose a decision to Devin Haney in December, is ranked No. 6 by the WBC and No. 9 by the WBA.

“We’re going back to the drawing board,” De La Hoya said. “We’ll definitely pick a top-5, top-10 guy before we take on Davis. Jo Jo Diaz is definitely on the list.”

The bottom line for De La Hoya: Whatever path Garcia takes, it will lead to great things.

“The sky’s the limit,” he said. “… He’s learning every single day. He has a true professional with Joe Goossen, who has been there and done that. The fact that he’s tall (5-foot-10) … he can fight in multiple weight divisions. I can see him being a four-[division] champion. The sky’s the limit.”