Ryan Garcia runs a Saturday night business in Los Angeles. Now comes the hard part.
The rising young star dominated veteran Javier Fortuna at Crypto.com Arena, knocking him out three times before stopping him 27 seconds in the sixth round of a welterweight bout.
That’s the kind of statement Garcia (23-0.19 KOs) hopes to make, as he’s determined to face the best possible opponents at 140 pounds, where he plans to stay.
RYAN GARCIA END IT#GarciaFortuna pic.twitter.com/yiXv4kGkp0
– DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) July 17, 2022
His dream opponent is young star and 135-pound contender Gervonta Davis, whom Garcia believes he can cash in on and take a big step towards superstardom.
Of course, the fight won’t be easy. Garcia matched with Golden Boy Promotion, Davis with Premier Boxing Champions. The fact that these are competing entities are not friendly with each other will complicate negotiations.
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” Garcia said when asked about the obstacles that stand in the way of the wits battle with Davis.
Garcia made a strong case on Saturday that he has earned the right to face the best in the sport.
He needed 12 innings to get past the reluctant Emmanuel Tagoe in April, his first game in a 15-month break to deal with his mental health and injury. It didn’t take him longer than half to finish off Fortuna, the £130 former second-tier player.
Garcia, 3 ½ inches taller than Fortuna, unleashes long, fast thrusts and tough right arms that keep the Dominican boxer from hitting multiple punches or venturing into the ring from the opening bell.
See you all at the end of the year..# PEOPLE
– Gervonta Davis (@Gervontaa) July 17, 2022
The beginning of the finish came halfway through Round 4, when a left blow to the body injured Fortuna and forced him to his knees. After that, he was even reluctant to engage Garcia.
Garcia again defeated Fortuna in round 5, this time with a left-leaning result. And he added a final knockdown in Round 6, also left-to-head that brought his defeated opponent to his knees.
Fortuna spat out his mouth to indicate he had finished the moment before referee Jerry Cantu counted him out.
The victory is perhaps less significant than Garcia’s save of Olympic gold medalist Luke Campbell in the seventh round last January because of the obvious limitations of 33-year-old Fortuna.
However, Garcia’s dominance over a famous, experienced boxer who had only been stopped once before in his 13-year professional career has increased the perception that the Southern California boxer is one of the hottest figures in the sport.
Garcia was asked if he would make the statement he hopes to make.
“I’ll leave that to everyone,” he said. “I know that I have performed well for myself and I know that I am sharp, I am sharp. And I was in my truth. I didn’t do anything crazy.
“I know what a good fighter I am. I just put it all together. And you saw that put together today. “
Garcia reiterated in a post-match interview that he intends to be at 140, where he feels strong and comfortable. That means Davis will have to push ahead to take on him, even though “The Tank” took on Mario Barrios in that weight class last year.
And it’s never been clearer that Davis wants to fight Garcia. He tweeted immediately after Garcia’s win, “See you later this year.”
“I want to fight the next Tank if Tank wants to be at 140,” Garcia said. “I’m going to document all the negotiations so you guys don’t make headlines that say I’m taking him down. If he wants it, take it.”
Why Davis?
“Because that would give me the respect I deserve,” he said. “And I was never scared. I’m trying to tell you that I have a competitive spirit in me. And you’ll see it when I fight Tank… and butt him! “
