“I don’t think Luke realised how hurt he really was,” said McKenna when speaking to Sky Sports. “There was over a minute left on the clock.
“If he had been an aggressive-style fighter, another fighter would have got him out of there, like Gervonta Davis or Teofimo Lopez. Luke is more of a stand-off fighter, it’s not in his nature to be aggressive and come forward.
“Garcia was badly hurt. If I had been in there, I would have got Garcia out of there, if I had him hurt like that.
“At that time, I didn’t think he had any power. During our spar he was a lot of tap, tap, and he was moving a lot. He was going from corner to corner.
“He looks like he was punching hard now at the minute, so he has worked on his power and his strength. He looks like he has a good punch, and he fought a good fight. When I first sparred with Ryan, I was still an amateur. He’d had 18 fights.
“Over this past year now, I’m hitting harder and harder. I’m getting stronger every day in the gym. I’m working savagely hard and I’ll be ready for Ryan Garcia whenever the time comes. I’d fight him tomorrow, if I had the chance.”
Photo credit:Stevie McKenna Facebook page
