Tag Archives: Emmanuel Tagoe

Ryan Garcia to Fight Mercito Gesta in January 2023 Tune-Up Fight

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Ryan Garcia has locked in his tune-up opponent…

The 24-year-old Mexican American professional boxer has signed a contract to fight Mercito Gesta in a January 28 fight in Phoenix, according to ESPN.

Ryan “Kingry” Garcia 

The 140-pound bout will serve as a tune-up for Garcia, who is slated to meet Gervonta Davis on April 15 in a Las Vegas superfight at a 136-pound catchweight.

Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) has his own tuneup January 7 against 130-pound titleholder Hector Luis Garcia in Washington.

Both Ryan Garcia and Davis must emerge victorious — and uninjured — from their respective January bouts to proceed with their April 15 pay-per-view showdown.

Davis’ trial for his alleged involvement in a hit-and-run crash, meanwhile, is scheduled for Feb. 16 in his native Baltimore, according to court records.

Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs) is one of the biggest stars in boxing, with 9 million followers on Instagram. He will be a heavy favorite against Gesta, a 35-year-old Filipino who has won two of his past five bouts.

The matchup with Gesta (33-3-3, 17 KOs) comes after a pair of victories for Garcia this year, both at 140 pounds. He scored a unanimous-decision win over fringe contender Emmanuel Tagoe in April and followed up with a sixth-round KO over perennial contender Javier Fortuna.

Garcia, who fights out of the San Diego area, picked up his career-best victory in January 2021 after he survived a knockdown to stop Luke Campbell in the seventh round.

He didn’t fight the rest of 2021 after he withdrew from a fight with Fortuna to address his mental health then had to scrap a bout with Joseph Diaz Jr. due to wrist surgery.

While Garcia is facing a genuine stay-busy opponent, Davis is meeting a boxer who broke through in 2022.

Hector Luis Garcia, a 10-1 underdog, routed Chris Colbert via unanimous decision in February before a wide-points victory over Roger Gutierrez earned him the WBA junior lightweight title.

The 31-year-old Dominican is ESPN’s No. 4 boxer at 130 pounds. Hector Luis Garcia (16-0, 10 KOs) will move up 5 pounds for the lightweight clash with Davis.

Ryan Garcia Agrees to Fight Javier Fortuna in July

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Ryan Garcia has lined up his next opponent…

The 23-year-old Mexican American boxer and Javier Fortuna have agreed to a deal for a 135-pound fight on July 16 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on DAZN, according to ESPN.

Ryan GarciaGarcia and Fortuna were set to fight last July, but Garcia withdrew to address his mental health. The star boxer was then lined up to fight Joseph Diaz Jr. in November 2021 but was forced to pull out after he suffered a wrist injury that required surgery.

Garcia, who hails from Southern California, finally returned in April with a unanimous-decision win over Emmanuel Tagoe, and was ringside on Saturday in Brooklyn to call out Gervonta Davis after Davis’ sixth-round TKO of Rolando Romero.

“Let me handle business July 16th, I’m going to get Tank,” Garcia (22-0, 18 KOs) tweeted Sunday. “He was screaming the whole fight ‘I’m next,’ so let it be. December, let’s get it.”

But first, Garcia is set for perhaps the toughest assignment of his career, even if Fortuna isn’t on Davis’ level (though Fortuna is ESPN’s No. 10 lightweight). The 33-year-old Dominican boxer shapes up as a second world-class opponent in three fights for Garcia after a seventh-round TKO of Luke Campbell in January 2021.

Fortuna (37-3-1, 26 KOs) possesses a powerful left hand and an aggressive, free-swinging style, but he’s coming off a clear decision defeat to Diaz in July. Fortuna bounced back in February with a stay-busy first-round KO and now lands the fight he’s been lobbying for.

“Ryan Garcia should take this fight very seriously and train properly because he will be facing, by far, the best fighter of his career,” Fortuna said last April before the July 2021 bout was cancelled.

“Hopefully on fight night, there will be no excuses for his loss. … I have too much of everything for Ryan Garcia. His [win over Campbell] showed how easy he is to hit. And his power won’t mean anything to me. But mine will put him to sleep.”

If Garcia, ESPN’s No. 6 lightweight, can push past Fortuna, a fight with “Tank” Davis is among the biggest in all of boxing.

Ryan Garcia Outboxes Emmanuel Tagoe in First-Ever 12 Round Fight to Remain Undefeated

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Ryan Garcia is still undeated…

Going an entire 12 rounds, the 23-year-old Mexican American boxer scored a unanimous-decision win over Emmanuel Tagoe on Saturday in San Antonio.

Ryan GarciaThe rising star remained undefeated via scores of 119-108, 119-108 and 118-109.

Garcia (22-0, 18 KOs) scored a flash knockdown of Tagoe in Round 2 with a grazing right hand, but was unable to produce a second knockdown as the Ghanaian seldomly engaged.

Garcia picked Tagoe (32-2, 15 KOs) apart with right hands to the body and left hooks to the head as the massive underdog languished on the ropes in a shell.

Garcia, ESPN‘s No. 6 lightweight, sent Tagoe reeling in Round 10 after he connected with another right hand, but the 33-year-old was able to buy time and make it out of the round.

“I hit him with some shots, he was crafty with the holding,” said Garcia. “He was moving a lot, I have to be better at cutting off the ring. I had to trap him down, it was a new experience trying to cut the ring off with a guy who’s looking to survive.

“I caught him with a super good right hand and he was really hurt but I couldn’t find the next shot.”

The 139-pound catchweight bout was Garcia’s first since a seventh-round TKO of Luke Campbell in January 2021, a breakthrough performance. Garcia was slated for another step-up bout in July of last year against Javier Fortuna, but Garcia withdrew to address his mental health.

Garcia was then set to fight former titleholder Joseph Diaz Jr., in November, but he suffered a wrist injury while training and underwent surgery that October.

When he returned to the gym, Garcia did so with a new trainer, Joe Goossen, whom he worked with during his amateur days. Garcia had trained with Eddy Reynoso at Canelo Alvarez‘s San Diego gym for his past five fights before they parted ways.

Ryan Garcia to Make Comeback Against Emmanuel Tagoe in Lightweight Fight in April

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Ryan Garcia is preparing for his return to the ring…

The 23-year-old Mexican American boxer will meet Emmanuel Tagoe in a lightweight fight on April 9 at the Alamodome in San Antonio on DAZN, according to Oscar De La Hoya, who promotes Garcia.

Ryan Garcia

The bout will be Garcia’s first since January 2021, when he scored a seventh-round TKO of Olympic gold medalist Luke Campbell in a career-best performance.

Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) was slated to fight Javier Fortuna in July 2021, but he withdrew from the fight to address his mental health. A bout against Joseph Diaz Jr., set for November 2021, was cancelled after Garcia suffered a wrist injury while training that required surgery.

“I went through a hard year. … Everything came tumbling down on me mentally,” Garcia said on ESPN+‘s State of Boxing in December. “It was a hard time in my life. It got really dark … to the point I didn’t know if I wanted to live anymore. I had a lot of thoughts about that throughout the whole year.”

Garcia possesses arguably the quickest hands in boxing and packs plenty of power, too. He’s trained by Eddy Reynoso at Canelo Alvarez‘s San Diego gym, and under Reynoso’s tutelage, Garcia rose to No. 6 in ESPN‘s 135-pound rankings.

Garcia has lobbied for a super fight with Gervonta “Tank” Davis but first must impress against Tagoe coming off a 15-month layoff, the longest of his career.

Tagoe, a 33-year-old fighting out of Accra, Ghana, will be competing in the U.S. for just the second time. He’ll do so against his best opponent by far; Tagoe (32-1, 15 KOs) has fought only a handful of recognizable names. His last bout was in October 2020, a majority-decision win over Mason Menard, who is best known for a first-round KO loss against Teofimo Lopez.

“I’m not going to give up and I’m going to keep being an inspiration for people that are struggling,” said Garcia, who is approaching 9 million followers on Instagram. “I’m right back on track and I’m not going to let anything that all these people are saying outside of the ring, trying to come at my character and who I am as a fighter, I’m not going to let any of that get to me.”