Eridson Garcia scored an upset in an intriguing bout against the previously-unbeaten Taiga Imanaga in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Garcia, 23-1 (14 KOs), edged a split decision in a tight fight that was swayed by a huge eighth-round for Dominican Republic fighter, who dropped Imanaga in the round and had him shaken for the remainder of the session.
Imanaga, the left-handed Japanese prospect from Yokohama, dropped to 9-1 (5 KOs), having won on a scorecard by 95-94 but lost on the other two by 95-94 and 96-93.
It was as close as the margins indicated.
“What I did during the fight when I saw my opponent was hurt, I took full advantage of that,” said Garcia, who said he might continue at either lightweight – where this fight was made – or junior lightweight.
While both threw jabs early on, it became clear that they were trying to land their long left hands. Garcia posed a threat in the third and the two looked well-matched.
Garcia opened the fourth with a solid left, too, and the action opened up with Imanaga working away with left hooks and uppercuts.
There wasn’t a lot in it in the fifth and Imanaga was on the front foot in the seventh though Garcia never stopped probing with his jab and exploring options to land heavier shots.
Garcia was walked onto a hurtful looking left hand near the end of round seven but he maintained his stoic march froward and crashed home his own big shots before the bell.
Those blows would have given Garcia real encouragement and as the eighth opened Garcia crashed home a right hand and Imanaga dropped heavily.
Imanaga made it back to his feet but Garcia came firing with both hands.
Imanaga planted his feet and almost refused to move his head. He was clipped by big shots and virtually a static target while shipping heavy blows from both hands as blood splashed across his face, Imanaga stood fairly firm. His right eye was swelling, he held, he ran, but ultimately, he survived a torrid session.
The bout could have been stopped during that round and there would have been few complaints.
Astonishingly, Imanaga stood in between rounds and there was a delay to start the ninth that would have helped the Japanese fighter.
Unsurprisingly, Garcia – from the Dominican Republic but fighting out of Houston, Texas –
boxed with a greater swagger in the ninth and Imanaga relied on toughness and resilience rather than technical prowess or defensive acumen to make it through the 10th and final round.
The result hung in the balance as it went to the scorecards. Imanaga had claimed the majority of the early rounds while Garcia took over late on and had scored the knockdown but it was Garcia’s fight.
Imanaga bagged 10 rounds in his previous fight, outscoring countryman Yuadi Murakami in Nagoya in September. Garcia had won five on the bounce since a one-round 2023 defeat to Jordan White.
