By Matt Lieberman: Ryan Garcia says he’s signed his “fight contract” for his match in July, and he has a “big announcement” this Tuesday. It was reported last week that interim WBC lightweight champion Ryan’s opponent will be Javier Fortuna for July.
With Sunday’s news by the 22-year-old Kingry Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) of him having signed the contract for his next fight in July, it’s now official that he’s facing the 31-year-old Fortuna.
ESPN reported last week King Ryan Garcia and former WBA super featherweight champion Fortuna (36-2-1, 25 KOs) had verbally agreed for a fight in July on DAZN.
Fighting Fortuna will help Ryan continue to progress while at the same time letting the bigger fights against Devin Haney, Teofimo Lopez, and Gervonta Davis marinate. At 22, there’s no rush for Ryan Garcia to fight the top guys yet.
Ryan Garcia signs contract for July fight
“Fight contract signed, big announcement Tuesday. Time to do as I do,” said Ryan Garcia on Instagram.
“Shoutout to @espn I like the clean version better!! ⚔️🔥🔥🔥 Get Ready for my next fight that should be in early July MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!! #boxing,” said Ryan Garcia.
Fortuna is ranked #2 with the WBC and considered in the top five in the lightweight division. A win over Fortuna will put Ryan in a position to challenge Devin Haney or WBC Franchise 135-lb champion Teofimo Lopez for their titles.
Ryan vs. Fortuna should bring in many new subscribers to DAZN, as it’ll attract interest from fans, particularly if it’s staged on the fourth of July weekend.
Fans think Ryan ducked Devin Haney
While some boxing fans might be a little confused about why Ryan is taking on Fortuna when he could have challenged for the WBC 135-lb title against champion Devin Haney, he’s doing it this way because he couldn’t get the fight he wanted against Manny Pacquiao.
That’s the one that Garcia wanted, and it’s understandable why. There would have been a lot more money for Ryan fighting Pacquiao than what he’d have gotten challenging Haney for his B-title with the World Boxing Council.
Ryan turned down a guaranteed title shot against Haney after beating Luke Campbell last January, believing that he would get a title shot against WBA welterweight champion Pacquiao.
When his hoped for fight against Pacquiao failed to materialize, Ryan was left without an opponent. He’d already pushed Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis to the side, thinking he was going to face Manny.