Ryan Garcia and Javier Fortuna exchanged words on Thursday during a heated face-off ahead of their fight this Saturday night on July 16th, on DAZN at the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles.
Fortuna (37-3-1, 26 KOs) had the 23-year-old Ryan (22-0, 18 KOs) looking nervous and shaken when he began pointing at him at the end of the face-off.
When Ryan was walking away, the former WBA super featherweight champion Fortuna followed him, causing the security to step in to prevent an escalation of things.
Afterward, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya admitted that he feels worried about what Fortuna is bringing to the fight because he seems to really want the victory.
To be sure, there’s a lot of money potentially on the line for both fighters, as the winner will be in a position to challenge for a world title against undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney.
Ryan wants the bigger game, hoping to get a fight in December against superstar Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis. There’s a lot of money Ryan can make against Tank, and it doesn’t matter if he loses.
The payday would be enormous for Ryan and would help add to his already huge wealth. Fortuna probably won’t earn a shot at Tank if he beats Ryan on Saturday. But a victory could get Fortuna a rematch with the Golden Boy-promoted Ryan, and that would be a nice payday.
“I want to be in a war, and this war will be on Saturday night,” said Fortuna to Fighthype. “He will get the energy 100%. He was very aggressive, and this is what I like,” said Fortuna when asked about his thoughts on his face-off with Ryan.
“Nothing is personal. Six or seven,” said Fortuna when asked where Ryan ranks in the lightweight division.
“I’m fine; I’m a dog. I like that s***; it makes me happy,” said Ryan to Fighthype when asked about his intense face-off with Fortuna on Thursday.
“Fortuna is worrying me. He wants it, he really wants it,” said Oscar De La Hoya to Fighthype, reacting to the face-off between Ryan Garcia and Javier Fortuna on Thursday.
“It might be a bad idea. It’s going to take a special fighter to get in there with Tank,” said Shakur Stevenson to Fighthype when asked about his thoughts on Ryan Garcia fighting Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.
“I think Ryan is a great fighter, a good fighter, but I DON’T think he’s a special fighter. Tank has been boxing his whole life too like Ryan, but Tank has a little more sauce,” said Shakur.
“He [Ryan] may knock Fortuna out. Fortuna gets wild, and Ryan got a good punch and good timing too. He may knock Fortuna out.”