Tag Archives: junior welterweight

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.

Rolly Romero to Fight Ismael Barroso for Vacant WBA Junior Welterweight Title

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Rolly Romero is still getting his shot at a title…

The 27-year-old half-Cuban American boxer will face off against Ismael Barroso for the WBA‘s vacant junior welterweight title on Saturday in Las Vegas, the organization has announced, after Alberto Puello was made champion in recess due to the adverse finding in his A-sample for the banned substance clomiphene.

Rolly RomeroPuello (21-0, 10 KOs) was set to defend his title vs. Romero on Saturday but was pulled out of the fight last month after the failed test.

The 28-year-old Dominican’s status as champion will be determined following a May 17 hearing with the Nevada commission, the WBA said. The organization will also wait to see if the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association returns a negative result for Puello’s B-sample.

It’s possible the winner of Saturday’s PBC on Showtime main event will have to face Puello next pending the WBA’s decision. Puello’s Dominican Republic-based promoter, Belgica Pena, told BoxingScene last month that Puello was taking the fertility drug clomiphene for its intended use, not as a performance-enhancing drug.

“Your wife is in the DR, right? So, what do you need to take fertility drugs for?” Romero posed during an interview with ESPN on Tuesday. “On top of that you pass one drug test, one with blood, and one with urine and two weeks later you fail a drug test and then you pass the other one?

“It don’t make sense why you’re taking fertility drugs if your wife’s not here. I don’t know about him — maybe that’s why his legs look a little weak sometimes — but I stop like a month before.

“How do I feel? Disgusted with anyone that does any of that s— in boxing. I think [PED testing] should be more regulated.”

Romero, from Las Vegas, is coming off a TKO loss to Gervonta Davis last May at 135 pounds. Romero (14-1, 12 KOs) will fight for a title in his 140-pound debut.

“I’m Rolly, I get special Rolly privileges,” Romero said. ” … Sorry that I’m getting a title shot … but also I’m by far one of the most entertaining boxers in the sport. You don’t wanna give me title shots, don’t watch my fights.”

Barroso (24-3-2, 22 KOs), a 40-year-old Venezuelan, is a 9-1 underdog.

Teofimo Lopez in Final Talks to Fight Josh Taylor in Junior Welterweight Title Fight

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Teofimo Lopez is thisclose to locking in a title fight…

The 25-year-old Honduran American boxer and former lightweight champion and Josh Taylor are closing in on a deal for a junior welterweight title fight this summer in the U.K., according to ESPN.

Teofimo LopezThe 140-pound fight could land at the 20,000-plus seat Easter Road in Edinburgh, Scotland, sources said, with May 27 and June 3 the dates being targeted.

Taylor, who is a star in his native Scotland, has competed at home for the majority of his fights. Lopez has never competed outside the U.S.

Taylor (19-0, 13 KOs) had been set to meet Jack Catterall in a rematch on March 4, but the bout was postponed after Taylor tore a plantar fascia last month. The 32-year-old champion said he would be able to resume training in approximately six to eight weeks.

Taylor defended his undisputed championship against Catterall last February in Scotland and emerged with a split-decision victory, but the judging was marred in controversy. Now, Catterall will probably have to wait for his chance to set the record straight.

Taylor and Lopez have been on a collision course for years as they’ve traded insults. Most recently, Lopez vowed to knock Taylor out before he scored a controversial split-decision win over Sandor Martin in December.

“I’d tear him up, from the body to the head, he’s not going to know which one I’m going to hurt him with,” Lopez, who fights out of Las Vegas, told Sky Sports in December. “A lot of people would like to see me take on Josh Taylor, and I’ve been calling him out.

“Especially to do it out there in the U.K., I really want to experience that. … I actually will put him down better than what Catterall did. He won’t come back up, that’s all I can tell you.”

Lopez (18-1, 13 KOs) captured the undisputed lightweight championship with a decision victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko in October 2020.

In ESPN‘s 2021 Upset of the Year, Lopez lost his titles to George Kambosos. Afterward, Lopez moved up to 140 pounds, where he has now competed twice. Lopez is rated No. 10 at junior welterweight by ESPN.

Taylor is ESPN’s No. 2 junior welterweight. After the Catterall fight, he vacated three of his four titles to pursue the rematch (and avoid the mandatory obligations with various No. 1 contenders that would block the return bout).

But following various attempts to schedule the rematch, it appears Taylor is ready to move on, at least for now.

The matchup with Lopez is genuinely a marquee fight both across the pond and stateside. It’s also one Taylor is ultra-confident he’ll win.

“He is a very good, very skilled fighter, but I do believe that on my night I take him to bits,” Taylor told Sky Sports in December. “He’s a bit of a clown. He seems to look past his opponents all the time. It’s twice he’s made the same mistake and almost paid the price for it again.

“He thinks he’s God’s gift, and then he comes crashing back down to Earth with a bang. … Let’s not forget, he did very well to beat Lomachenko, but he beat a small, injured lightweight that really could make featherweight.”

Taylor first must fully recover from yet another injury. The plantar fascia connects the heel bone to the toes to create the arch of the foot, and it’s considered a highly painful injury.

Taylor and Lopez were both on ESPN’s pound-for-pound list at the same time before Lopez’s loss to Kambosos. Taylor, too, dropped off the list after the performance vs. Catterall.

Taylor’s impressive resume includes wins over Jose Ramirez and Regis Prograis.

Catterall, meanwhile, is slated to return March 25 in Manchester, Boxxer announced, but no opponent has been finalized.