The Return Of Ryan Garcia
The Return Of King Ry
Saturday, July 16th, 5 PM PST | DAZN
“King Ry” is back, as lightweight contender Ryan Garcia facing arguably the most formidable opponent of his career in Javier Fortuna, though some would disagree and say Luke Campbell should take that title. Garcia recently returned to the ring to face Emmanuel Tagoe, and now looks to regain momentum in his career.
Garcia is a huge ticket seller, but while Devin Haney, “Tank” Davis, Shakur Stevenson, and Teofimo Lopez won world titles, Garcia has yet to win one himself, despite getting analytic views on their internet, and tons of live-gate numbers, and now being in his second weight class as he originally fought at 130 lbs. Garcia is a more of concert attraction, an exciting fighter, who you go to see fight, but not as much for the accolades he has accomplished in the ring as of now.
Fortuna, who is a guy on the downside of his career is a serious enough test to answer some questions, one of which being, is Garcia in this sport of legacy or simply wealth? Beyond that, can Garcia fight back if Fortuna has success?
We’re getting to the point of wondering if world titles matter to Garcia? The path he has taken is not putting pressure for those types of fights to be made, and when he did pick up a form of a world title against Luke Campbell, his hiatus from the sport hit.
Garcia was set to face Fortuna last summer but withdrew which allowed Jospeh Diaz Jr. the opportunity to defeat Fortuna which set in motion his fight against Devin Haney. Garcia now has to make up for lost time as guys like Charlie Sheehy and Keyshawn Davis are not all that far away from being in the same spot he is in as an athlete, but not as an entertainer. Despite being a young person, Garcia has to decide what he wants from boxing, but his ambivalence only allows for others to pass him by, as he was once thought of as the future of boxing, but now has to earn that moniker back as he has allowed too much time to go by without receiving accolades that he should have accomplished by now.
This fight week will tell how the world sees Ryan Garcia right now.
It is obvious we’re excited to see Ryan Garcia return not unlike seeing Tom Cruise in a summer movie, but the next question is; will he fight again this year, and does he have a goal of being a long-reigning world champion? These are the unanswered questions, we hope to get answered.
undercard
Fresh off his biggest career win and headlining a card, Alexis Rocha will face Samuel Kotey, in the co-main event that is a 10-round bout. Rocha who knocked out Blair Cobbs in his last fight will face Kotey who lost a close split decision to Cobbs two years ago. Rocha needs to follow up his big win with another great performance to keep his career moving in the right direction, which is upward. Rocha has a chance to be an emerging welterweight, could be in line to face future world champion, Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Lamont Roach Jr. is very close to a world title at 130 lbs as he is fighting in the WBA 130 lbs eliminator against Angel Rodriguez, a Venezuelan boxer who got an upset win over Mark Urvanov in Russia that prompted him to be in this position. Roach Jr. has been eagerly awaiting a spot at the top of the division and this would make him mandatory to face the winner of Roger Gutierrez, the current champion, versus Hector Luis Garcia, which is tentatively scheduled to be on a Showtime card in Florida in late August.
I wrote about this fight, and mostly Ricardo Sandoval on NYFights.com. Sandoval will yet again be in another tough fight this time against David Jimenez, as he is forgoing being the number one contender for Sunny Edwards’ world title, as he is looking to become the WBA flyweight number one contender. Current WBA flyweight champion Artem Dalakian seems to be in the cards for the winner of this bout, or at least one would hope.
The odd career of Diego De La Hoya will continue as he faces Enrique Bernache, but for De La Hoya just getting to the fight has been an issue as of late from missed weights to injuries, let’s see if he can compete, as De La Hoya has been removed far too often for my liking on fight week, so he has to redeem himself in this regard. A loss to Ronny Rios also has staggered excitement in his development from a young emerging fighter to a potential face of Golden Boy Promotions future, as De La Hoya is now in that period of having to demonstrate his abilities.
Super middleweight Lawrence King, a friend of the Garcia family, returns on this card after a long hiatus. During Ryan Garcia’s initial run, excitement about King was very real, yet a loss to Jaba Khositashvili, four years ago, stunted his growth. Since then he has won seven fights, six by way of knockout, and looks to reintroduce himself to American fight fans.
Barboza Close To A World Title
Friday, July 15th, 6 PM PST | ESPN
One of the best 140 lbs fighters in the world who has yet to fight for a world title, Arnold Barboza Jr. will face Miguel Cotto Promotions’ Danielito Zorrilla in a fight that should have world title implications.
The fight for me pits a classic overachiever in Arnold Barboza Jr., in a career underachiever in Danielito Zorrilla. Why do I view Zorrilla as an underachiever, despite a fantastic stoppage win over Pablo Cesar Cano, his unsettling technical win over Ruslan Madiyev on Ring City USA left me unsatisified as to his potential. Yes, Zorrilla was fouled during the bout, but he looked very uncomfortable in this fight, as Zorrilla entered as a future Puerto Rican world champion and after the telecast, despite a win, Zorrilla gave us more questions than answers and had me wondering if he really was a future world champion.
Barboza Jr. has been battle-tested beating great regional fighters like Max Becerra, as well as Jonathan Chicas, and notable contenders in Alex Saucedo and Mike Reed, even fending off a former champion, Mike Alvarado, a former sparring partner of Barboza Jr., who actually was part of the reason Barboza Jr. got signed to Top Rank Inc. On paper, Barboza Jr. is more proven and more accomplished, but in terms of when they were signed, Zorrilla brought forth more excitement than Barboza, who signed with Top Rank Inc., after giving Mike Alvarado very good sparring for his bout against Juan Manuel Marquez that took place at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
For a Friday night, this is as good as boxing gets, as Josh Taylor’s reign at the top of 140 lbs is slowly falling apart, his belts are slowly leaving his grasp, with the WBC ordering Jose Ramirez vs. Jose Zepeda, and likely more coming. This is the type of fight that creates a world title contender, one who could face a Regis Prograis, or Teofimo Lopez in the near future.
undercard
Sadly, the exciting lightweight Keyshawn Davis had to withdraw from this fight card with an illness, as the return of the exciting 2020 Olympic silver medalist Richard Torrez Jr. will be the co-main event as he faces Roberto Zavala Jr. in a six-rounder. Torrez Jr. is just interesting, as a he fights like a star, and speaks like a star. The only fear I have is how much damage he might accumulate on his journey to a world championship glory. The journey of Torrez Jr. is worth watching.
Raymond “Danger” Muratalla, a fighter from Robert Garcia’s Boxing Academy, whom the team views as their next breakout star after Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, will be in action. Muratalla’s last win over Jeremy Hill, was a solid win over a tough guy who has battled a who’s who the best in the country in his same position. Muratalla’s opponent, Jair Valtierra, a one-loss fighter with seventeen pro fights, and looks very dangerous on paper.
Heavyweight Stephan Shaw has a chance to spoil, a highly touted heavyweight run in the future, as Shaw is a good boxer, who seemingly has struggled to find himself on television and let the world get used to him. Guys like George Arias are getting more TV time than Shaw at this point, but with what seems to be a partnership with Top Rank Inc., Shaw should face one of the undefeated fighters in the future. The fight I am looking for is Stephan Shaw vs. Guido Vianello. Shaw will face Bernardo Marquez in a bout that should make Shaw look like a million bucks.
Floyd Diaz will make a quick return to face Pedro Salome in a 122 lbs bout. Diaz last fought on the Edgar Berlanga fight card, as Diaz’s won his bout, but looked a bit off, which is seemingly normal given he had lost his grandfather on the same day as the fight. Diaz, who fans of amateur boxing might better know as “Cashflow” is a very talented fighter, who I have high hopes for as a viewer of the sport of boxing.
Club Shows
A great super flyweight world title fight will happen mid-week as WBO super flyweight world champion Kazuto Ioka will face Donnie Nietes in a rematch, of their 2018 bout that Nietes won by split decision. Nietes is a true legend of the sport, but Ioka is trending upward. The winner of this would make a great December opponent for Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.
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Welterweight contender Quinton Randall will be in an eight-rounder against Ivan Pandzic. Randall is capable of being in a world title in the future.
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Bantamweight Dylan Price will face Drew Correll in a ten-round bantamweight bout. With Inoue leaving the division soon, Price should make run at the top of the division.
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Featherweight Thomas Patrick Ward is in action this week.
MMA in 500 Words
Saturday, July 16th, 12 PM PST | ABC
A mid-day card will see contender and UFC star Brian Ortega take on Yair Rodriguez, who Yair Rodriguez’s cousin is 2016 Mexican Olympic bronze medalist Misael Rodriguez. The bout should serve as a bridge for who will go on to get marquee bouts.
Fan-faovrite Michelle Waterson will look to fend off Amanda Lemos, a young emerging fighter. Waterson might be one of the best UFC fighters to never win a title, and I am sure she is solely in the sport to win a title at this point, as she has done everything else. That being said, will she outlast Lemos
The always exciting Li Jingliang will slug with Muslim Salikhov.
Two former Invicta champions Emily Ducote and Jessica Penne will open the card