Lightweight contender Ryan Garcia says he’s gotten rid of the ring rust from his last fight and he expects to be sharp for his 12-round headliner next month against veteran Javier Fortuna on July 16th.
Garcia (22-0, 18 KOs) and former WBA super featherweight champion Fortuna (36-3-1, 25 KOs) will be meeting in the main event on DAZN at the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles, California.
The 23-year-old Ryan says the southpaw Fortuna will sharpen him up to prepare for a title shot against WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis later this year in October or November.
Ryan is dead certain the Tank fight will happen this year, and he’s essentially talking up that match to help create interest in his fight against recently beaten Fortuna. In other words, Ryan is clout chasing by mentioning Tank to create interest in a match that boxing fans aren’t demanding against the 33-year-old Fortuna.
Ryan was supposed to fight Fortuna last year but pulled out of the fight due to anxiety problems. In the meantime, Joseph ‘Jojo’ Diaz Jr. came in and beat Fortuna last July, which is one of the reasons there’s little interest in Ryan fighting the veteran now.
“I am going to get him out of there. The dude cannot last with me,” said Ryan Garcia to DAZN Boxing Show about his next opponent Javier Fortuna.
“You’re not going to see that ring rust on because I had ring rust in that fight with [Emmanuel] Tagoe. You’re going to see my reflexes and timing is that much better,” said Ryan Garcia on what boxing fans can expect to see from him in his fight against Fortuna.
“You’re going to see my control in the ring, you’re going to see my defense, and you’re going to see things that you haven’t seen in a while. Everything came back, and now I’m even stronger as a man and I’m more wiser as a fighter.
“What I’ve assessed during this training camp is I’m more complete now. It’s not just that I’m hurting people, it’s how I’m breaking down people and I’m on top of everything. I don’t miss anything right now,” said Ryan.
“Jojo is not on my level, Jojo is not even an afterthought in my mind. Jojo doesn’t even cross my mind, ever. I don’t know the difference between a Bumblebee and Jojo.
“Where I am now, I can say I’m even more confident that I can beat up Tank and stop him.
“Rolly, you could see that his emotions got to him in the later stretch of the rounds. He just started overshooting for no apparent reason. The fact that he lost his head and felt like he needed to knockout Tank was his downfall.
“I seen a couple of things in there [in Tank vs. Rolly fight] that makes me even more confident, but I was already confident before [of defeating Gervonta]. But you ask if I’m more confident. Yeah, I would say I am,” said Ryan.
