Fresh off a thrilling comeback victory over Luke Campbell in January, Ryan Garcia is stepping back into the ring. He will be defending his interim WBC Lightweight Championship. This time he’s going up against experienced southpaw contender Javier “El Abejon” Fortuna. The fight is scheduled for Friday, July 9th.
Garcia’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya told us, “little by little, Ryan Garcia is silencing all of the skeptics. And the only way to keep doing that is by continually facing tougher challenges. Javier Fortuna is an experienced southpaw who can be very slippery when he wants to avoid punches. It’s a dangerous fight for Ryan, but I expect him to show newer elements in his arsenal before ending matters by knockout.”
Garcia is a 22-year-old contender who through his massive social media following has become one of boxing’s most popular young athletes. Since joining the Golden Boy stable in 2016, he steadily made his case for a world title opportunity. He’s defeated the likes of “Ruthless” Romero Duno, Francisco Fonseca, Carlos “The Solution” Morales and Jason “La Maravilla” Velez.
Since joining forces with renowned trainer Eddy Reynoso, the native of Victorville, Calif. has looked better than ever. Improving his technical abilities and scoring knockout wins in his last six fights, including one against “Cool Hand” Luke Campbell to capture the interim WBC Lightweight Championship.
Of the bout Garcia showed no lack of confidence, stating “Fortuna is eager and will be ready, but so will I. No one can beat me in the lightweight division, period. I’m going to show the world who I am.”
Javier Fortuna however has other thoughts. The 31-year-old southpaw who is currently ranked No. 2 by the WBC in the lightweight division and a native of the Dominican Republic told the press “Ryan Garcia should take this fight very seriously and train properly because he will be facing, by far, the best fighter of his career.”
“Hopefully on fight night, there will be no excuses for his loss. I expect this fight to be a war while it lasts, but I have too much of everything for Ryan Garcia. His last fight showed how easy he is to hit. And his power won’t mean anything to me. But mine will put him to sleep.”
Those is fighting words if we ever heard them.
Garcia vs. Fortuna takes place July 9th. Details on venue and undercard to be announced.