Jorge Garcia had a good feeling about his last fight, in more ways than one.
The resurgent contender from Los Mochis, Mexico was fully prepared to shock the world headed into his April 19 clash with then-unbeaten Charles Conwell. Garcia, 33-4 (26 KOs) completed the task, pulling off an upset split decision over the 2016 U.S. Olympian.
Historically, the sport tends to not reward the relatively unknown spoilers. That wasn’t the case here, as the stars aligned both for Garcia and unbeaten Xander Zayas as they were each in pursuit of their first major title fight.
Both get their wish, as they compete for the vacant WBO 154lbs title this Saturday on ESPN, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
“I don’t want to sound arrogant. But I’ve always thought the possibility of this was in play after I beat Conwell,” Garcia told BoxingScene. “Charles Conwell was at number two [with the WBO]. I was at number three.
“I thought it would classify as the official challenger. I’m sure his team thought the same, and that’s why they made the fight.”
The path wasn’t straight away for Garcia, who had to wait out Sebastian Fundora, 23-1-1 (15 KOs) vacating the belt before his number was called.
Zayas, 21-0 (13 KOs) was named the WBO mandatory challenger this past March, right after Fundora’s knockout win over Chordale Booker to defend the WBC and WBO belts. Fundora-Zayas was ordered, but talks quickly hit a wall and the purse bid hearing was designated by the sanctioning body.
Fundora bowed out of the process to instead face Tim Tszyu in a more lucrative (and contractually obligated) rematch. It meant giving up the WBO belt he lifted off Tszyu last March, with Zayas first in line for that title.
The catch was that the unbeaten Puerto Rican contender had to face the highest-rated available challenger. Garcia was next in line and was not about to give up what is remarkably his first major title shot entering his 38th pro fight.
“It surprised me, only because they offered me a fight with Xander Zayas in the past, well before the title,” Garcia recalled. “I think they were looking for opponents on the way to the title a couple of years ago. My team asked me and I said, ‘Yes, of course.’ We told them we were interested but never got the call. I don’t think it was because they were scared or anything.
“Maybe they just wanted a better opportunity, maybe my record wasn’t appealing enough to them. The good thing, now, is that when the title became vacant, it was no longer a question. If they wanted Xander to compete for the title, they had no choice but to fight me this time.”
The opportunity comes as Garcia has won his past eight starts. He is on his best career over the past 13 months, beginning with an upset knockout win over Roarke Knapp on the road last June 15 in Kempton Park, South Africa.
Two fights later, Garcia upended former welterweight contender Kudratillo Abdukakhorov last December 14 in Tijuana, Mexico. The same show saw local hero and former 154lbs titlist Jaime Munguia land on the wrong end of the Upset of the Year in a knockout loss to Bruno Surace.
Garcia’s win over Abdukhakhorov was less shocking, though still a morale booster for the 28-year-old contender. He rode that momentum into the dangerous assignment with Conwell, who sought to stay busy as he awaited his own title shot.
That opportunity instead goes to Garcia, who feels like he already hit the lottery with the ESPN headliner versus Zayas. However, the mission is far from complete.
The plan, now, is to make sure he forever changes his life.
“A win [on Saturday] will be an amazing moment for my family and me,” stated Garcia. “To go from nothing, to having a home and providing a better way of life for my family. It’s been a blessing to get to this point.
“It’s all based on lots of sacrifices. My wife and I wed at a young age. We struggled together but we always persevered and moved forward together. This has been as much her dream as it’s been mine. We will achieve history.
