Ryan Garcia’s first-round KO win lands him on Golovkin-Alvarez PPV card

Ryan Garcia has leaned on his charm to attract a flood of supporters to the unbeaten Victorville fighter’s bouts, and he played that up Thursday.

“I’m sorry it’s the first round,” Garcia said in the ring after capping a night of early knockouts at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio with a first-round knockout of Tijuana’s Fernando Vargas.

No need to apologize.

The 19-year-old super-featherweight, who won prospect-of-the-year recognition last year with six knockout triumphs, kept his streak rolling by dropping Vargas (33-16-3) with a hard power punch to the head followed by a short hook to the jaw that ended the bout with five seconds remaining in the first.

“It was my first 10-round fight and the dude has experience, so I expected some rugged fighting, but if I see the shot opening, I can’t let it slip,” Garcia said. “It was there and I took it.”

Garcia (14-0, 13 knockouts) said he wanted to show more of his boxing skill and was a bit nervous before his first ESPN-televised main event, “but once I landed the first jab, I said, ‘Let me set him up.’ I shortened the hook and he was out.”

He announced that the victory means he’ll appear next on the scheduled May 5 Gennady Golovkin-Canelo Alvarez middleweight title rematch at T-Mobile Arena.