Watch: When Ryan Garcia's vicious body punches didn't have any effect on Francis Ngannou
Ryan Garcia may have stopped Luke Campbell with a body punch, but those had no effect on a padded up Francis Ngannou.
Following Garcia's recent TKO victory, ESPN MMA re-posted a viral video of him delivering full-force body shots to UFC heavyweight Francis Ngannou, who was also wearing a protective boxing body pad:
The video, which was originally posted on Francis Ngannou's Instagram, shows Ryan Garcia blasting the UFC heavyweight with body shots. To Garcia's disbelief, his punches hardly moved Ngannou, who was laughing throughout the whole interaction.
Ryan Garcia has been one of boxing's biggest rising stars in the past few years. The 22-year old has compiled an impressive 21-0 professional record with 18 of those wins coming by way of knockout.
While many questioned the level of competition that Garcia has faced throughout his career, he silenced all his doubters with his most recent masterpiece against former two-time title challenger Luke Campbell. Garcia survived an early knockdown to stop Luke Campbell by a body shot in the seventh round. The win earned Garcia the interim WBC lightweight championship and a shot at reigning WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney in the future.
Francis Ngannou, meanwhile, is the number one contender in the UFC's heavyweight division, and could challenge Stipe Miocic for the title in 2021.
How far can Ryan Garcia go in boxing?
Ryan Garcia survived the biggest test of his boxing career when he defeated Luke Campbell by seventh-round TKO. With the win, Garcia improves to 21-0 in his career and captures the interim WBC lightweight title. It is the first world championship of Garcia's young career, and it likely won't be the last.
The question now is, how far can Ryan Garcia go?
At just 22 years old, Ryan Garcia has already proven that he can be a top-tier talent in the 135-pound division. He likely faces reigning WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney next. If Garcia can dethrone Haney for the WBC strap, then a unification bout with Teofimo Lopez could be on the horizon. If everything goes according to plan, "King Ryan" could be undisputed lightweight champion before he turns 25.
Another viable option for Garcia is a highly-anticipated bout with reigning WBA super featherweight champion Gervonta Davis. Oscar De La Hoya has mentioned his desire to book this fight, and it's likely that we see it take place in 2021.