Notebook: Ryan Garcia to face Javier Fortuna a year after originally scheduled
Morrell aims to shine on Showtime; Quick hits; Show and tell
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Lightweight star Ryan Garcia is looking to make up for lost time as he is now set for his second fight in three months after having fought just once in 2020 and once 2021.
Garcia will face Javier Fortuna in a scheduled 12-round main event on DAZN on July 16, Golden Boy announced on Tuesday.
“It’s time to show the world Ryan Garcia as an elite level fighter,” Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya said. “This fight against Javier Fortuna will not only be a tough fight, it will show the world how talented he is.”
Golden Boy is wrapping up a site deal so the venue was not announced but it is an open secret — and Garcia tweeted it — that the fight will take place at Crypto Arena (the former Staples Center) in Los Angeles.
Garcia (22-0, 18 KOs), 23, of Victorville, California, was originally scheduled to face Fortuna last July 9. Garcia signed for the fight last April but then pulled out in order to deal with mental health issues.
“If there is any doubt I was hesitant to fight Fortuna a year ago, that will all be made clear after our fight,” Garcia said. “This was the fight I wanted and now it’s time. I am so grateful to my friends, family, and especially my fans for their support. I have never felt better, stronger and more motivated. It’s time to silence all the doubters and it starts on July 16.”
Garcia felt he was ready to return from his mental health issues in November and was due to face former junior lightweight titlist Joseph Diaz Jr., but Garcia withdrew from that fight also due to a right hand injury that required surgery.
On April 9, Garcia ended a 15-month layoff with a near-shutout decision over Emmanuel Tagoe, whom he knocked down, at the Alamodome in San Antonio. He came out of the fight with no injuries and wanted to fight again as soon as possible.
The WBC ordered a final title eliminator between Garcia and Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz, whom Garcia has been calling out for months, but the Cruz camp refused to negotiate the fight even with a generous 50-50 split if it had gone to a purse bid.
So, now, Garcia will face former secondary junior lightweight titlist Fortuna (37-3-1, 26 KOs), 33, of the Dominican Republic, in a fight that is scheduled almost one year to the day it was originally planned.
Diaz, filling in for Garcia after he pulled out last July, outpointed Fortuna but Fortuna bounced back with a first-round knockout of Rafael Hernandez in February in the Dominican Republic.
“This is going to be a very exciting fight,” Fortuna said. “I know it didn't take place last year like originally announced but I hope that this time it will be real so that I can offer a good show to the public. I feel very happy with the work that I have been doing with my promoter, Sampson (Lewkowicz), who has been trusting me since the beginning of my career.
“I will prepare 100 percent to win my fight. I trust my team now more than ever and have full confidence in my coach Belvin Garcia, who I consider my family. Together, and with God on our side, I know we will hold up our hands high in victory on fight night.”
Morrell in Showtime spotlight
David Morrell will defend his WBA “regular” super middleweight for the third time when he faces Kalvin Henderson, but he has his eye on a much bigger fight.
The Cuban southpaw Morrell (6-0, 5 KOs), 24, wants a piece of former two-time titlist David Benavidez, who won the vacant interim WBC belt by third-round destruction of David Lemieux on May 21. But first he will face Henderson (15-1-1, 11 KOs), 31, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Saturday (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET) at The Armory in Minneapolis, Morrell’s adopted hometown.
The fight is the co-feature of the card headlined by WBC/WBO junior featherweight titlist Stephen Fulton Jr.’s defense against former unified titlist Danny Roman. Showtime will open the broadcast with a replay of secondary lightweight titlist Gervonta Davis’ sixth-round knockout of Rolando Romero Jr., which headlined a Showtime PPV card last Saturday.
“A victory will set up a major showdown with David Benavidez or any of the top contenders or champions,” said Morrell, who has moved quickly thanks to a deep amateur background on the Cuban national team. “It’s no secret that I’m coming for Benavidez. I know a great performance will lead to some big-time fights, against some big-time names.”
Morrell prepared for the fight with trainer Ronnie Shields in Houston. It will be their second fight together but they only spent about three weeks together for the first fight. For this fight, Morrell had much more time with Shields.
“I got to spend 10 weeks training with Ronnie Shields, as opposed to only three weeks before my last fight, and it could not have been better,” Morrell said. “We just have incredible chemistry.
“I got to spar with some new faces, and I’ll be very sharp going into this fight. My body feels good and I’m healthy. No body aches or injuries, so I’ll be ready to shine. Henderson is a very durable fighter who has never been stopped. I’m aiming to be the first person to knock him out. He’s had a lot of time to prepare for this fight, so I know he’ll be coming in great shape. He also has a lot of power, so I must be at my best defensively.”
Henderson suffered his only loss by 10-round unanimous decision to Isaiah Steen in July and has won his only fight since.
Quick hits
The WBO on Tuesday did what has been expected as it formally ordered undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) to next make his mandatory defense against Australia’s Tim Tszyu (21-0, 15 KOs), who stepped aside to allow Charlo to reschedule his postponed rematch/unification fight for all four belts with Brian Castano from March to May 14. Charlo won by 10th-round knockout to fully unify the 154-pound division and Tszyu, who had outpointed Terrell Gausha on March 26, was due for the next shot. The WBO sent a letter to Charlo promoter Tom Brown of TGB Promotions and George Rose of No Limit Promotions, Tszyu’s promoter, notifying them that they have 20 days to make a deal or a purse bid will be ordered. If needed, the minimum bid is $200,000. Either side may request an immediate purse bid if they do not want to negotiate.
The WBC junior flyweight title eliminator between former titleholders Elwin Soto (19-2, 13 KOs), 25, of Mexico, and Hekkie Budler (33-4, 10 KOs), 33, of South Africa, slated for June 25 in Soto’s hometown of Mexicali, will stream live in the United States on ESPN+ (8 p.m. ET), Zanfer Promotions announced on Tuesday. Soto lost his 108-pound belt by split decision to Jonathan Gonzalez in his last fight in October 2021 in Fresno, California. Budler, a former unified titlist, lost his belt by 10th-round knockout to Hiroto Kyoguchi in December 2018 and has boxed just once since, a 12-round decision win over novice Jonathan Almacen in May 2021.
All-action Brooklyn, New York, junior welterweight Cletus Seldin (26-1, 22 KOs) will face France’s Rachid Jkitou (28-0, 20 KOs) in a 10-rounder that will headline Star Boxing promoter Joe DeGuardia’s card on June 11 (FITE) at the Paramount in Huntington, New York. Seldin has won five fights in a row, including sending Zab Judah into retirement by 11th-round knockout in 2019. Jkitou will be boxing in the United States for the first time.
Bantamweight Saul Sanchez (18-1, 11 KOs), 24, Encino, California, will make his 2022 debut against Eros Correa (11-1, 8 KOs), of San Jose, California, in the 10-round main event of the Thompson Boxing “Path To Glory” card on June 17 at Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California. Sanchez gained attention in September when he knocked out Ja’Rico O’Quinn in the first round on Showtime’s “ShoBox: The New Generation.” The card will be streamed on Thompson Boxing’s Facebook and YouTube pages.
Show and tell
Future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire, who had already won world titles at flyweight, bantamweight and junior featherweight, moved up to featherweight and in his second bout in the division traveled to Macau, China to challenge world titleholder Simpiwe Vetyeka, who was making his first defenses after stopping Chris John to win the title five months earlier. Donaire suffered a cut from an accidental head butt in the first round but was in control of the fight. He dropped Vetyeka in the fourth round but the cut had gotten worse and the fight was stopped one second into the fifth round and sent to the scorecards for a technical decision. Donaire won handily, 49-46 on all three scorecards, to claim a world title in a fourth weight class. The fight was on May 31, 2014 — eight years ago on Tuesday. Here is a very rare oversize program from the fight in my collection.
Morrell photo: Hosanna Rull/iRull Fotos
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I wonder if there’s any truth to the rumor? Chocolatito/Estrada 3 will be the Co-Main for Garcia/Fortuna. That’d be a card worth making a trip for. Solid Fight for Garcia. I think both GBP and Mayweather are waiting to see what happens this weekend. If Kambosos wins, both promotions will be looking to make that fight for either Tank or Ryan. If Haney wins, maybe we finally get Garcia/Tank. Due to Kambo’s rematch clause.
I believe (?) Fortuna is a PBC fighter and so if Davis at least remains with PBC, if not Mayweather, does Garcia (GBP/DAZN) fighting Fortuna suggest that a future Garcia vs Davis fight (co-promotion) would be possible?
PBC are going to struggle matching Davis at lightweight as their 135 pounders, not already beaten by Davis, are not currently up to top world/ PPV level.
Currently only co-promotions with Top Rank or GBP can produce the big 135lb fights for Davis. Maybe this is why Davis is currently assessing his options.