Tag Archives: Catchweight

Ryan Garcia Training with Derrick James Ahead of 140-Pound Title Campaign

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Ryan Garcia has a new trainer…

The 24-year-old Mexican American star boxer will train with Derrick James in Dallas ahead of his campaign for a 140-pound title, Garcia announced on social media.

Ryan GarciaGarcia presented James as his trainer on Instagram, where he boasts 10.4 million followers. Garcia had parted ways with trainer Joe Goossen following a seventh-round KO loss to Gervonta Davis last month in Las Vegas.

That superfight, which netted $22.8 million in ticket sales, was contested at a 136-pound catchweight, but Garcia (23-1, 19 KOs), ESPN’s No. 6 boxer at 140 pounds, will compete at junior welterweight going forward.

“I’m searching for greatness,” Garcia told ESPN. “I’m looking to improve. I’m looking to be a champion with Derrick James. I feel he can guide me and mentor me.”

James is ESPN’s reigning Trainer of the Year. In 2022, the former boxer guided Errol Spence Jr. and Jermell Charlo to unification title wins, as Spence added a third welterweight title while Charlo became the undisputed junior middleweight champion.

Earlier this year, James began working with former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, and now the trainer has added a fourth marquee fighter to the mix. James is known for perfecting power punchers, so it’s a natural fit with the heavy-handed Garcia.

Garcia first teamed with Goossen as an amateur boxer in Southern California. Garcia was trained by his father, Henry, for many of his pro fights, but Eddy Reynoso took control of the corner in 2018.

Reynoso, Canelo Alvarez‘s longtime trainer, guided Garcia to five wins in five bouts, including his seventh-round TKO of Luke Campbell in January 2021. Following that career-best victory, Garcia was out of the ring for 15 months while he addressed his mental health and recovered from wrist surgery.

When Garcia returned in April 2022, there was a familiar face in his corner alongside his father: Goossen. Goossen, 69, trained Garcia for three fights: a decision win over Emmanuel Tagoe in April 2022, a sixth-round KO of Javier Fortuna in July and, finally, the loss to Davis.

Erislandy Lara to Defend Middleweight Title vs. Danny Garcia in August

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Erislandy Lara is preparing to defend his title…

The 40-year-old Cuban professional boxer will defend his middleweight title versus Danny Garcia on August 5, according to the WBA.

Erislandy LaraThe Showtime main event is expected to take place at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, sources said, at a 155-pound catchweight.

PBC has been planning a fight between Lara and Garcia for months, but Michael Zerafa stood in the way. The 31-year-old Australian was the mandatory challenger to Lara’s title, but he agreed to step aside after he was offered an undercard slot, Zerafa’s manager, Elvis Grant, told ESPN.

“PBC were more than fair in reasonably working this out with Team Zerafa,” Grant said.

Zerafa (30-4, 19 KOs) is ESPN’s No. 10 middleweight.

The WBA stipulated that the winner must face Zerafa by December or face being stripped.

Lara, 40, was elevated as champion after Gennadiy Golovkin relinquished his title. A former 154-pound champion, Lara’s impressive résumé includes a controversial decision loss to Paul Williams, a split decision defeat to Canelo Alvarez and a victory over Austin Trout.

The Cuban’s split decision defeat to Jarrett Hurd in a 154-pound title unification was ESPN‘s 2018 Fight of the Year. Lara’s draw with Brian Castano the following year was one of the best fights of 2019.

Lara (29-3-3, 17 KOs) has competed four times since the Castano bout, all of them against domestic-level competition. Three of those four wins came inside the distance.

Garcia (37-3, 21 KOs) is a former unified 140-pound champion and 147-pound titleholder. He rose to prominence with an upset fourth-round TKO victory over Amir Khan in 2012 and followed up with an impressive victory over Lucas Matthysse the following year.

His lengthy résumé includes wins over Erik Morales, Zab Judah and Lamont Peterson, along with tight decision defeats to Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter. The 35-year-old Philadelphian made his 154-pound debut in July with a majority decision win over Jose Benavidez Jr.

That was Garcia’s first fight since a December 2020 decision loss to Errol Spence Jr.

Fight Between Ryan Garcia & Gervonta Davis Officially Confirmed

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It’s official… Ryan Garcia will battle Gervonta Davis.

The 136-pound catchweight fight between 24-year-old Mexican American boxer and Davis is now finalized.

Ryan GarciaBoth boxers announced on social media that they’ll meet April 22 in Las Vegas.

Finalizing the broadcast agreement between Showtime and DAZN was all that was left, and that’s now been done. The fight will be broadcast on Showtime PPV.

The fight had been planned for April 15, but was pushed back one week to allow more time for promotion as negotiations dragged out, sources said.

The fight between the two stars is perhaps the biggest commercial event boxing can deliver. A dispute over the rematch clause had threatened to derail the fight, but that issue was resolved earlier this month after PBC agreed that Golden Boy would serve as the lead promoter for a second bout if Garcia wins.

Only Davis can exercise the rematch clause in the event he loses, per sources.

Typically, boxers have 30 days to activate their right to an immediate return bout.

Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) will earn slightly more for the first fight, according to sources, and is the betting favorite. Davis defeated Hector Luis Garcia last month via ninth-round TKO to keep the Ryan Garcia matchup intact.

Earlier this month, Davis pleaded guilty to four counts stemming from a hit-and-run crash in November 2020 in Baltimore that left four people injured, including a pregnant woman. Davis’ sentencing is set for May 5, which means any potential punishment won’t interfere with his ability to compete in April.

Davis was arraigned Thursday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in connection with a Dec. 27 misdemeanor domestic violence charge of battery causing bodily harm. His next hearing is set for March 31, per Broward County court records. Davis pleaded not guilty after allegedly hitting the mother of his 1-year-old daughter with a “closed-hand type slap,” according to police, who said she suffered a small abrasion on the inside of her upper lip. She asked the court to dismiss charges in an affidavit filed Jan. 24.

Both Davis and Garcia announced on Instagram in mid-November that they would meet in a long-awaited fight in 2023, but it took months to reach an agreement on terms.

Davis, a 28-year-old from Baltimore, is one of the biggest needle-movers in boxing. “Tank” has 4.2 million Instagram followers and routinely fights before a host of celebrities. ESPN’s No. 3 lightweight, Davis won a junior lightweight title with a seventh-round KO of Jose Pedraza in 2017.

Before he defeated Hector Luis Garcia, Davis scored wins over Isaac Cruz and Rolly Romero in 135-pound bouts.

Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs) is a star, too, with over 9 million followers on Instagram.

Regarded for his lightning-quick hands, he scored a career-best win in January 2021 after he survived a knockdown to stop Luke Campbell in the seventh round. He didn’t fight for the rest of 2021 after he withdrew from a bout with Javier Fortuna to address his mental health followed by wrist surgery that scrapped a match with Joseph Diaz Jr. Garcia, who fights out of Southern California, returned last year with wins over Emmanuel Tagoe and  Fortuna at 140 pounds. Garcia, who formerly campaigned at 135 pounds, vowed to remain at 140 but will drop four pounds for the catchweight bout.

Garcia had been set to fight Mercito Gesta in January, but bypassed the planned tuneup bout to head directly into the high-stakes showdown with Davis.

Renato Moicano Replacing Rafael Fiziev for This Weekend’s Bout Against Rafael dos Anjos

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Renato Moicano is stepping up for a battle royale…

The 32-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist will step in on just four days’ notice to battle Rafael dos Anjos in the co-main event of UFC 272 on Saturday, according to ESPN sources.

Renato MoicanThe fight has been reportedly verbally agreed to and both sides are awaiting contracts.

dos Anjos, the former UFC lightweight champion, originally was scheduled to fight Rafael Fiziev this weekend, but Fiziev withdrew Monday due to being sick with COVID-19. dos Anjos wanted to remain on the card and UFC was able to come to an agreement with Moicano.

The new fight will be contested at a catchweight of 160 pounds over five rounds.

A few other names, including top lightweight contender Islam Makhachev, were in discussions to replace Fiziev but Moicano won out.

dos Anjos tweeted that he called Makhachev’s bluff and Makhachev “folded.” Makhachev beat Bobby Green in the UFC Fight Night main event just three days ago.

Moicano is in Brazil and still waiting to find out when he’ll be able to travel to Las Vegas, per his manager, Oren Hodak of KO Reps. Fighters traditionally arrive Tuesday of fight week if the card is on Saturday.

dos Anjos (30-13) has not fought since a split-decision win over Paul Felder in November 2020. That was the Brazil-born fighter’s return to the lightweight division from welterweight. dos Anjos was the UFC lightweight champion in 2015 and 2016 and has one of the toughest strengths of schedule in the promotion’s history.

Moicano (16-4-1) has won two straight and three of his past four, with the lone loss during that span coming to Fiziev. Training out of American Top Team in Florida, he is coming off an impressive, second-round submission win over Alexander Hernandez at UFC 271 on February 12 in Houston.