"I'm ready for the challenge" - Ryan Garcia vows to surpass Canelo Alvarez in the pound-for-pound rankings

Ryan Garcia is confident about becoming a pound-for-pound superstar in the sport of boxing. The 23-year-old even claims to be a bigger star than Canelo Alvarez.

Garcia believes that if he beats his lightweight rival Gervonta Davis, it will give him the respect that he deserves. After Davis emphatically scored another knockout victory over Rolando Romero on May 28, it created a potentially huge American clash.

'KingRy' is expected to make his return to the squared circle on July 16 against Javier Fortuna in Los Angeles. The Californian was last in the ring in April, where he defeated Emmanuel Tagoe by unanimous decision.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Garcia proposed his ambitious thoughts for becoming a pound-for-pound star after a potential matchup with Davis:

"Over Canelo, over everybody. I swear to you. I promise you. That's how it will be. It would be monumental. Golden Boy [Promotions] won't be able [to prevent it]... I will go to war to fight 'Tank'. I'm ready, at the end of the day it's the fight where I'll get respect and I deserve it."

Ryan Garcia also said:

"I'm ready for the challenge. I'm very confident that I can beat him. He's a great fighter, don't get me wrong. But I'm a much, much better fighter and I want to show everyone what I do and that's the fight to make. Everybody wants to see it and I'm ready now."

With Canelo being one of the biggest stars in boxing, it will take some doing for the younger man to be a bigger name. Despite this, Garcia has already built up the fifth highest social media following in the sport of boxing.

If Ryan Garcia was to defeat Gervonta Davis, it would certainly push him up in the pound-for-pound rankings. However, going beyond Canelo would require 'KingRy' to also defeat the other stars in his division. The standout performer in his weight class is, of course, the Undisputed Lightweight Champion Devin Haney.

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What does Ryan Garcia have to do to become a bigger pound-for-pound star than Canelo Alvarez?

Canelo Alvarez has dropped down to sixth place in The Ring Magazine's pound-for-pound list, after being defeated by Dmitry Bivol on May 7.

Ryan Garcia has much more to prove if he wants to become a bigger star than the Mexican. The young fighter is involved with arguably the most competitive division in the whole of boxing, with most of his rivals being at prime age too.

The division includes former champions Vasyl Lomachenko, Teofimo Lopez, and George Kambosos Jr. Additionally, Undisputed Champion Devin Haney and WBA (Regular) Champion Gervonta Davis sit at the top of the division.

'KingRy' has to win his first world title, while defeating huge names along the way if he wants to take a step closer to the pound-for-pound list. There's certainly an opportunity for Ryan Garcia to make an impact in the rankings, but he has a long way to go first.