By: Sean Crose
Javier Fortuna must certainly be happy. He’s finally getting his chance to face Ryan Garcia in the ring. The Massachusetts (by way of the Dominican Republic) fighter is, according to numerous reports, set to throw down with Garcia July 16th at the Crypto.com arena in LA. Garcia had made it clear he was going to fight on that date. It was simply a matter of learning which fighter it would be that the Californian would face. Now the word is out that Fortuna, who Garcia was once supposed to fight before stepping out of the ring for a period, will be Garcia’s foe.
The 22-0 Garcia is unquestionably one of the biggest names in boxing. Hard hitting, flashy, undefeated and enormously popular on social media, Garcia appears to be the whole package. Fans are looking for him to face a name opponent, and Garcia has made it clear via Twitter that he’s eager to face WBA lightweight titlist Gervonta Davis in December. At the moment, though, Garcia is going to have to focus his sights on the 37-3-1 Fortuna. Now under the tutelage of highly regarded trainer Joe Goosen, Garcia is looking to up his game as he works his way through the sport’s ranks.
As for Fortuna, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. He’s no slouch, Fortuna. At 33 years of age, the man is a former world titlist. He’s lost a few times, but he’s no walk in the park. His last fight was a first round knockout over Rafael Hernandez in February of this year. Garcia’s last battle was a 12 round unanimous decision over Emmanuel Tagoe back in April. It was Garcia’s first fight in over a year. He’s reportedly planning to fight much more now that he’s returned to the ring and has seemingly put his career back on track.