Ryan Garcia understands the comparisons given the common opponent, but isn’t looking to one-up Gervonta Davis and Tevin Farmer in his next fight.
That part should just come naturally if all goes according to plan.
The 21-year old heartthrob couldn’t pick a more occasion to return to the ring, as he faces former two-time title challenger Francisco Fonseca on February 14—Valentine’s Day—at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The DAZN-streamed headliner comes with a regional title at stake, but will of course be used as a measuring stick to see how he stacks up against Davis and Farmer, both of whom represent the lone two losses on the ledger of Nicaragua’s Fonseca (25-2-2, 19KOs).
“I don't think it's that important to look better,” Garcia (19-0. 16KOs) insisted during an open media workout Monday afternoon in Los Angeles. “I just feel that if I give my best performance, then it will be better than those guys. But if I for some reason have an off night, then I will look like shit.
“But I work too hard to have an off night. I work too hard to have a lucky night. What I do in the gym, I do in the ring.”
Fonseca suffered his first career defeat in a 130-pound title challenger versus Davis (22-0, 21KOs), who vacated the belt at the scale after missing weight for their August 2017 clash in Las Vegas. An upset win by Fonseca would have netted him the title, but that never came close to happening as he was stopped in eight rounds which left the title vacant.
It would remain unoccupied for the better part of the next year, as Farmer would claim the strap in a 12-round win over Billy Dib in August 2018. The Philadelphia-bred boxer has since registered four defenses, including a points win over Fonseca on a December 2018 DAZN show at Madison Square Garden which also featured Garcia on the undercard in what was his first fight under the tutelage of Eddy Reynoso, who is best known for his work with World middleweight king and pound-for-pound entrant Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
The bout with Fonseca will mark the fourth straight camp where Garcia and Reynoso have worked together. He is currently 3-0 (3KOs) during that stretch, including a blistering 1st round knockout of Romero Duno last November in Las Vegas. The idea is to keep that momentum going, fighting with every intention of looking spectacular and escaping clean enough to return to the ring as soon as possible.
“I feel like this is the first step towards things to come,” notes Garcia. “Now that it's here, I'm ready to shine at the brightest moment.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
