Ryan Garcia 134.8 vs. Francisco Fonseca 134.8 – weigh-in results

By Boxing News - 02/13/2020 - Comments

By Aragon Garcia: After weeks of build up, lightweight phenom Ryan Garcia weighed in at 134.8 pounds on Thursday for his 12 round fight this Friday night on Valentine’s Day against the well seasoned Francisco Fonseca on DAZN at the Honda Center, in Anaheim, California.  Ryan’s opponent Fonseca (25-2-2, 19 KOs) also weighed in at 134.8 lbs.

Ryan taking a step up against Fonseca

A lot of boxing fans have been asking on social media today, ‘When is Ryan Garcia going to stop fighting bums?’ What casual fans don’t know is Francisco Fonseca has only lost twice and those were against WORLD champions in Tevin Farmer and Gervonta ‘Tank Davis in title fights.

The fans that are critical of Ryan for fighting Fonseca haven’t seen the Nicaraguan fight, because he’s someone with a lot of talent. This is a very good test for the young 21-year-old Garcia (19-0, 16 KOs), being that it’ll show whether he’s ready for Golden Boy Promotions to step him up.

YouTube video

Fonseca is better than anyone that Garcia has fought to date, and if he defeats him in spectacular fashion, then he’ll be ready to face Jorge Linares next. That’s who Golden Boy wants to match Ryan against next. That is why former three division world champion Linares (46-5, 28 KOs) is on the undercard facing former Garcia opponent Carlos Morales (19-4-4, 8 KOs).

Jorge Linares could be next for Ryan Garcia

If both Ryan and Linares win on Friday and look good, we could see them fighting in the co-feature bout on Canelo Alvarez’s next fight date on Cinco de Mayo on May 2 in Las Vegas. Garcia can’t afford to look past Fonseca because this guy has got a lot of ability. What Fonseca lacks in power and hand speed, he more than makes up for it in terms of his innate toughness that he brings.

He’s one of those guys that is willing to take whatever you dish out in order land his own shots. Those types of fighters are very tough because they’ll still be there later on in the fight, testing your chin and endurance. If Ryan has a chin or conditioning problems, Fonseca has the potential of exposing those weaknesses.

Ryan wants Lomachenko, Tank and Haney

“I’m not going to wait around or sit around waiting for someone to get old or fights to pass by. For me, I’m trying to get them right now,” said Ryan Garcia. “Like I said, titles don’t mean as much to me right now due to so many titles just being given away.

“I kind of lost my fire to get one. So I’m pretty much, ‘Let’s get the big names right now. Let’s fight Lomachenko, and let’s fight Gervonta Davis, let’s fight Devin Haney, and let’s get those fights on right now, and see who wins,'” said Garcia.

Ryan has lost interest in just trying to win a world title for the sake of it. He’s seen too many mediocre fighters win world titles, and the belts have lost value in his eyes. A lot of boxing fans feel the same way.

The world titles have lost the prestige that they used to have, and the only way to be considered a champion is to hold 2 or more belts. That might be the reason why heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is looking to capture all 4 titles.

The only way to receive full respect as a world champion now is to hold multiple titles,  and you can blame that on the sanctioning bodies.

Golden Boy Promotions aren’t trying to slow Ryan down by preventing him from taking on the top guys at 135. They’re trying to facilitate Garcia’s wishes, but they’ can only do so much. The other promoters that have Lomachenko, Tank Davis and Haney need to work with them to get Ryan the fights he wants.

Garcia wants the top guys that everyone is afraid of

“If they’re great fights, let’s do a rematch or do a trilogy,” Ryan said. “That’s what I’m looking for, and that’s my legacy. Name one fighter that fought everybody in their prime. You can’t name one, but there is going to be one, and it’s going to be me. I will be trying for greatness.

All those top guys that everyone is afraid of, and no one wants to fight. I’m chasing them. He is a big draw, but he’s not a bigger star than me,” said Garcia on Tank Davis. “He’s a tough fighter, and he’s explosive,” said Garcia.

Ryan has got to be careful that he doesn’t take the fights against the elite level lightweights too soon. If he gets beaten repeatedly in a short period of time, he’s not going to be taken seriously any longer.

Is Ryan Garcia for real?

Right now, when Ryan talks boldy, the media and boxing fans listen to him, and are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt despite him not having any experience. But after 2 or more losses in a short period of time, Garcia will be seen as a guy with an ego problem, who’s ability doesn’t match the words that come out of his mouth.

We’re going to get a good glimpse of what Garcia is capable of doing this Friday when he faces Fonseca. Doing against Fonseca will make believers out of a lot of boxing fans and members of the media, who suspect that he’s all talk. On the flipside, if Garcia struggles, looks bad or loses, then it’s going to be hard for him to gain his fans back.

Linares will be a good barometer on how talented Garcia is, but ideally he should take another small step up after that fight. When Linares was interviewed this week, he didn’t sound like he was sold on Ryan. If he can beat Linares, then he should look to face someone like Luke Campbell, Richard Commey or Javier Fortuna to see if he’s really ready for the big time.

Other weights on the Garcia vs. Fonseca card:

Jorge Linares 134.8 vs. Carlos Morales 135
Alexis Rocha 146.4 vs. Brad Solomon 147
Blair Cobbs 145.8 vs. Samuel Kotey 146.4
Alejandro Reyes 134.6 vs. Nelson Colon 133.8
Bektemir Melikuziev 167.4 vs. Oscar Cortes TBA
Evan Sanchez 146.8 vs. Daniel Evangelista 146.4
Tenochtitlan Nava 126.8 vs. Anthony Casillas 122.4
Venue: Honda Center, Anaheim, California

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b33M8WcGR2w