Thoughts On Garcia-Fortuna

As the fight between undefeated top Lightweight contender Ryan Garcia and Javier Fortuna approached, this observer found himself not feeling the normal anticipation that I normally have prior to a fight where there is significant interest. For someone who covers Boxing on every level imaginable and does so full time, I would be lying to the reader if I said that every single fight had the same level of anticipation.

In the days prior to this fight, the anticipation level at least for me seemed to bottom out. Perhaps it in part had to do with the fatigue that one can experience during a calendar year covering the sport of Boxing, but I thought to myself that the question going into this fight was in a way too simple. Would Javier Fortuna be able to impose his will on Ryan Garcia and pose more of a challenge than Garcia’s previous opponent Emmanuel was able to do earlier this year.

There were times after all when Garcia’s fight with Tagoe, his first since returning from a hiatus to focus on his mental health, resembled a sparring session due largely to Tagoe’s inability to make things difficult for Garcia in a fight where Garcia was able to control the combat from start to finish. While that can be attributed to both Garcia’s overall skillset as well as perhaps a bad style matchup for Tagoe once the fight was underway and he was unable to adjust, I did wonder whether or not this would be a different scenario and if Fortuna could make things more difficult for Garcia.

The slight wrinkle of the bout between the two Lightweights taking place one weight class above the 135lb. Lightweight division, in the 140lb Jr. Welterweight division did also make me wonder if this was a one-off way for Garcia to test the waters of the Jr. Welterweight weight limit before going back down to 135lbs. to seek a potential world title shot against the winner of the contracted rematch between undefeated Undisputed Lightweight world champion Devin Haney and former champion George Kambosos. Unfortunately for Fortuna, the decision for this fight to take place above the Lightweight division would prove to be not to his benefit.

In previewing this bout, I stated that it would boil down to whether or not Fortuna would be able to keep Garcia from getting into a rhythm. I elaborated furthest that one of the ways he could accomplish that would have been to make it a rough fight particularly if he were able to get close and force the fight on the inside. From the opening bell, Garcia seemed to systematically walk Fortuna down. The combination of the pressure as well as Garcia’s longer reach kept Fortuna from being able to find consistent success beyond occasionally landing hard counter punches.

While Fortuna’s punches did have power and seemed to get Garcia’s attention when they landed, he was not able to keep Garcia from coming forward and could not break his rhythm. It would be a matter of time before Garcia’s own power punches began to break Fortuna down. First it would be a left hook to the body that caused a delayed reaction from Fortuna prior to going down to the canvas. Quite frankly, having covered countless fights that ended via similar body shots, I thought the fight would be over as it is rare to see a fighter get up from a punch that not only takes their legs away from them, but also for lack of a better term paralyzes their ability to move for a period of time. To his credit, Fortuna was able to get up, but it would be the first of what became three knockdowns as he would be flooded in rounds five and six. The second knockdown coming from a flush right hook to the jaw in round five before Garcia closed the show by dropping Fortuna with a flush left hook to the head in round six before the fight was stopped.

Although much like his last bout against Emmanuel Tagoe, he did not face much of a test, Ryan Garcia was impressive in getting a knockout victory in his second fight since his return to the ring. Despite much of the discussion regarding Garcia both before and after his hiatus has centered on his being a potential challengers for the World Lightweight championship, following his knockout win over Javier Fortuna, Garcia stated his intention to stay in the Jr. Welterweight division going forward and called out former Jr. Lightweight world champion Gervonta Davis, who has spent the past few years collecting interim/regular champion designations in the World Boxing Association (WBA) rankings in multiple divisions including the Jr. Welterweight division.

Of course, yours truly does not have to tell those who follow the sport that there are significant obstacles that stand in the way of a potential fight between Davis and Garcia. Mainly rival promoters and rival networks, one of which continues to insist on using a pay-per-view model while the other is primarily subscription-based, but has been open to using pay-per-view on what they insist will be an occasional basis. I speak obviously of Showtime and DAZN as far as the network players involved and Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) and Golden Boy Promotions, the promoters.

While I can spend days talking about the flaws of the pay-per-view model, as well as the grandstanding and verbal back and forth between promoters and network executives, the latter of which indicates that they are more interested in talking about their competition and attempting to dismiss them rather than focusing on their own product, one can hope that for once all the above will put their egos aside and do right by the fighters and hopefully, right by the sport and the fans that support it. It may indeed be “Wishful Thinking” on the part of this observer, who only has the best interest of Boxing at heart, but imagine what could be done if all involved checked their egos at the door.

That dear reader can only be described in one word. "Progress.”

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

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Ryan Garcia: Back In The Lightweight Mix

While not completely unheard of, it is rare when discussing an undefeated fighter to say that they are “Back In The Mix,” simply due to that term is normally reserved for fighters that are looking to bounce back from defeat. There are times however, where a fighter no matter their record or standing in the sport of Boxing can find his or herself in a position of having to re-enter the discussion/mix in their given division due to outside of the ring circumstances pulling them away from their careers. In the case of undefeated Lightweight contender Ryan Garcia, this was essentially the position he found himself in as he prepared to face top contender and former IBO Lightweight world champion Emmanuel Tagoe on April 9th in San Antonio, TX. 

 

Garcia was coming off a lengthy stretch of inactivity due largely to struggles with his mental health as well as an injury that sidelined him for most of 2021. This stretch of inactivity, commonly referred to as a “Layoff” throughout combat sports, came after the biggest win of Garcia’s career when he stopped former world title challenger and former Olympic Gold medalist Luke Campbell in January of last year. Despite appearing on the verge of potentially challenging for a world championship, Garcia, as this observer pointed out in previewing his bout against Tagoe, put his health first, which is something that should be applauded. 

 

The view of yours truly notwithstanding, it was logical to question how Garcia would look after such a lengthy absence as well as how the layoff would affect him. In addition to Garcia taking time for himself, much of the publicity surrounding his bout with Tagoe centered on his recent split from trainer Eddy Reynoso and his former stablemate and some might say mentor Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Although Garcia made a wise decision in choosing longtime trainer and broadcaster Joe Goosen to replace Reynoso, the fact that so much attention prior to the bout centered on the public split between himself and Reynoso/Alvarez and not the fight itself, fueled questions among some as to how focused Garcia might have been going into the bout, despite having one of the top trainers in the entire sport in his corner. 

 

While others who cover the sport may have chosen to focus their coverage on the circumstances surrounding the split between Garcia and Reynoso, yours truly has never been one to engage in the practice of gossip as I feel it does little for the sport and feel that the split between a fighter and a trainer is a private matter unless the parties choose to make it public. Even though some would say that is essentially what happened in this case, I nevertheless chose to stay away from the subject beyond obviously stating the fact in my pre-fight column that Garcia and Reynoso had parted ways. 

 

Instead, I focused my attention on the fight itself and it was noteworthy that Garcia did not choose what some would consider a “Soft” opponent for what would be his “Comeback Fight” in the form of former world champion Emmanuel Tagoe. Tagoe, who briefly held the International Boxing Organization (IBO) world championship in the 135lb. Lightweight division in 2018, came into the fight on a thirty-two fight winning streak. Tagoe’s lone defeat in his career prior to the encounter with Garcia came in his professional debut in 2004 when he was by a fighter named Lante Addy in June of that year. 

 

Despite his having previously held a world championship and having more experience than the twenty-three year old Garcia, he was not well-known particularly amongst those for whom Boxing is a casual interest. Nevertheless, Tagoe’s experience seemed as though could provide a test for Garcia. The actual fight however, would prove otherwise as the consistent pattern was Garcia pressing the action and Tagoe being very defensive. 

 

There was not much in the way of highlights or exchanges in this bout, beyond Garcia scoring a knockdown of Tagoe in the second round with a grazing hook to the head. Although Tagoe was not offensive throughout much of the fight beyond throwing his jab in an attempt to keep Garcia from coming forward, he was able to catch Garcia with a well-timed counter left hook to the head in the middle rounds. While Tagoe’s offense was sporadic and he seemed unwilling to engage in exchanges with Garcia, he still proved to be a difficult opponent by using his experience to extend him to the first twelve round decision of his career. A decision that Garcia would win convincingly. 

 

Although this fight did not see a definitive conclusion in the sense of a knockout win for Garcia, the fact that he was stretched to twelve rounds for the first time in his career will likely serve him better in the long-term than a knockout would have. Over the course of a fighter’s career that fighter will likely face a variety of styles and there are at times where opponents will not be as willing to engage in fights where knockouts might occur. There are times where a veteran like Emmanuel Tagoe will be able to make things difficult simply by not being baited into the type of fight that would be more beneficial for their opponent than it would be for them.  

 

Unfortunately, such scenarios do not necessarily create the environment for the most entertaining fights if you are a fan, but the main benefit for a fighter in Ryan Garcia’s position from a bout like this is the experience both in terms of going a twelve round distance, as well as having to deal with a crafty veteran that made him fight a different fight than he is used to. Simply put, while not the most entertaining fights to watch, these type of bouts are crucial in the development of fighter who may have his eyes on challenging for a world championship. 

 

With the immediate future of the Undisputed Lightweight world championship locked up in at least two potential bouts between champion George Kambosos and undefeated contender Devin Haney, which will likely take up the rest of 2022 providing Haney defeats Kambosos in their scheduled bout in June, the main goal for Ryan Garcia and his new trainer Joe Goosen should be to try and keep him as active as possible until an opportunity to challenge whomever the Lightweight champion of the world might be, becomes available. 

 

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.” 

 

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved. 

 

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison  

 

  

 

Ryan Garcia: The Comeback Begins

 

In January of last year, undefeated Lightweight contender Ryan Garcia entered the ring to face former world title challenger and former Olympic Gold medalist Luke Campbell in Dallas, TX. For the then twenty-two year old Garcia, this fight represented a significant step up in class against a more experienced and dangerous opponent.  A fighter who was coming off of challenging for a world championship in his previous bout.  The sport of Boxing can be a complicated one on many fronts, but when it comes to the development of a young fighter, often, the process follows a straight-forward approach. Gradually look to build the fighter against opponents that range from over matched to fringe threats that will allow the fighter to develop before the eyes of an often-skeptical public.  

 

While this process has various elements including the fighter putting in time in the gym learning and developing a skillset, as well as a marketing component for the promoter of said fighter, and such a process will vary in terms of time on a case by case basis, it is usually a fight such as the one Ryan Garcia fought against Luke Campbell that is viewed as potentially the final step towards challenging for a world championship. As was expected by several in the sport including those who cover it like yours truly, Campbell, a former two-time world title challenger did provide Garcia with the test that many had been wanting to see. This included dropping Garcia for the first time in his career with a flush counter left hook in the second round. 

 

To his credit, despite being dropped hard from that counter punch, Garcia was able to get up from the knockdown, regrouped and by round seven where he would score his own knockdown of Campbell with a left hook to the body, which proved to be the fight ender, Garcia was in control of the fight prior to landing that devastating punch that landed on Campbell’s liver and ended the evening for him. Clearly, it was the biggest win to date of Garcia’s career, and he did appear to be on a short list of potential challengers for then Undisputed Lightweight world champion Teofimo Lopez. It was not to be however as Garcia would remove himself from active competition for the remainder of 2021. This was due to his ongoing struggles with his mental health and while it is admirable that he did what he should have done in putting his health and wellbeing as his first priority, there are some who might say that he gave up the momentum he had in the process.  

 

This observer will not be one of those people who will question that as I do believe the issue of one’s mental and emotional health is real and it does show that Garcia understood what was of importance in putting himself first, even after winning the biggest fight of his career and appearing to be on the verge of challenging for a world championship. What has happened since then in terms of Boxing-related business for Garcia is he chose to split with his longtime trainer Eddy Reynoso and his stablemate Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and chose to go back to his trainer from his amateur days in trainer and Boxing broadcaster Joe Goosen, who is long regarded as one of the top trainers in the sport. 

 

After over a year of inactivity, the twenty-three year old Garcia will return to the ring on Saturday, April 9th at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX when he faces top Lightweight contender and former IBO Lightweight world champion Emmanuel Tagoe in a scheduled twelve round bout, which will be fought at a catchweight of 139lbs. Although this fight will technically be fought in the 140lb. Jr. Welterweight division, this bout could have implications for the 135lb. Lightweight division that has no shortage of top names looking to maneuver themselves into a world championship bout.  

 

Some may question given the implications that this fight will have on the Lightweight division as to why this bout will be technically fought in the 140lb. Jr. Welterweight division. Yours truly can only speculate, but perhaps Garcia’s inactivity played a role in that decision as well as potentially looking to test the waters at 140lbs. It is also important to keep in mind that the immediate future in regard to the World Lightweight championship is already scheduled in undefeated Undisputed world champion George Kambosos being slated to make the first defense of his crown against undefeated WBC number one contender Devin Haney on June 5th in Australia. Should Haney dethrone Kambosos in that fight, there will be an immediate rematch between the two presumably later in the year. While the winner of the bout between Garcia and Tagoe is likely to be on a short list of potential challengers for whomever the winner or winners of those potential two bouts will be, the fact that it will remove the possibility of a challenge for a world championship from the equation for both, at least for the immediate future was likely also taken into consideration. 

 

As for who will be standing across the ring from Ryan Garcia on April 9th, Emmanuel Tagoe is a boxer/puncher with fifteen knockouts in his thirty-two career victories. He has only lost once in thirty-three professional fights, and briefly held the IBO world championship in the Lightweight division so, this is not what some would consider a soft touch for Garcia’s first fight back after a lengthy absence. Tagoe has been a professional since 2004 and his only loss came in his pro debut. The thirty-three year old Tagoe does have a significant edge in experience over Garcia both in terms of total fights fought as well as length of professional experience. 

 

While not particularly well-known here in the United States, Tagoe is capable of making things difficult for opponents as well as having deceptive punching power should the opportunity arise. In thinking of how this fight might be fought, I feel it is crucial for Tagoe to try and pressure Garcia early. It is important to keep in mind that Garcia is after all coming off of a stretch of inactivity and it should also not be overlooked that a lot of the discussion leading up to this fight as far as Garcia is concerned has centered around his split from Eddy Reynoso and Saul Alvarez. Although not necessarily a reflection of Garcia’s preparation for this bout, it does indicate that Tagoe is being viewed if not by Garcia, then by fans and some media as an afterthought, despite the credentials he brings with him into the fight.  

 

Simply put, Tagoe must pressure Garcia, try to make him uncomfortable, and get his respect early in the fight. Despite the addition of Joe Goosen in his corner, if Garcia is not prepared, Tagoe is the type of fighter that can take advantage. For Garcia to be successful in this fight, he needs to get into a rhythm early, but must not get over aggressive as he did for a brief period against Luke Campbell where Campbell was able to catch him with a shot that dropped him. Emmanuel Tagoe is a good counter puncher and if Garcia looks to try to end this fight early, Tagoe can take advantage of openings that might be available to him. 

 

Even though this bout on the surface is about Ryan Garcia returning to the ring, if he is not focused, the ingredients are present for what would be viewed particularly amongst the casual Boxing fan as an upset, despite the experience and pedigree Emmanuel Tagoe brings into this bout. We will see if youth will prevail over experience on Saturday night. 

 

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.” 

 

Garcia vs. Tagoe takes place on Saturday, April 9th at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX. The card can be seen globally on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN beginning at 5PM ET/2PM PT with The DAZN Boxing Show: Before The Bell, with the main card beginning 9PM ET/6PM PT. (U.S. Times.)  

 

For more information about DAZN including schedules, list of compatible streaming devices, platforms, Smart TVs, availability around the world, local start times in your area, and to subscribe please visit: www.DAZN.com.  

 

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved. 

 

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison