Ryan Garcia’s Mystery Opponent For July 16 Revealed

Ryan Garcia will make his comeback in boxing against Javier Fortuna more than a year after their bout got canceled. Mike Coppinger of ESPN came out and tweeted that both fighters have agreed to a deal.

The fight will take place at 135-pounds on July 16 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The fight will be streamed on DAZN following the PPV model.

Both fighters were supposed to face each other in July last year, but Garcia had to withdraw from the fight due to mental health issues. Fortuna then took on late replacement Joseph Diaz Jr., who handed “El Abejon” his first loss in almost 4 years via decision. Since then, the WBC lightweight champion, Devin Haney, defeated Diaz.

Garcia was supposed to return in November 2021 against Diaz Jr., but due to suffering a wrist injury, that fight got canceled as well.

Ryan Garcia vs Javier Fortuna

Ryan Garcia comes into the fight with an undefeated record of 22-0 with 18 KOs, coming off of a victory against Emmanuel Tagoe by decision back in April this year.

Fortuna comes in as the more experienced fighter with a record of  37-3-1 including 26 KOs, beating Rafael Hernandez in his last fight by knockout in February. Although Garcia comes in as the favorite, this certainly is a tough challenge for him.

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Even if both men have lost momentum since the first got canceled. It’s still a solid matchup between two very capable lightweights.

A potential fight with Gervonta Davis

Ryan Garcia was present ringside in Brooklyn for Davis vs Romero; He then called out Davis after his sixth-round TKO of Rolando Romero.

He tweets, “Let me handle business July 16th I’m going to get tank, he was screaming the whole fight I’m next so let it be.. December let’s get it.”

Garcia vs. Davis would be one of the biggest possible fights in boxing, as both fighters are young and undefeated. But first, Garcia is set for perhaps the biggest challenge of his career. The 33-year-old Dominican boxer is only the second elite opponent Garcia will face. His first being Luke Campbell, who Garcia had knocked out in January 2021.

Fortuna has a powerful left hand and a free-flowing style, but he is past his prime and was beaten by Diaz last year. Although Fortuna bounced back in February with a first-round KO, it was against Rafael Hernandez, who was past his prime.

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If Garcia can overcome Fortuna, a fight with “Tank” Davis would be among the biggest bouts in boxing. Who do you think will come out victorious in this fight? Let us know in the comments below.