By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten lightweight prospect Ryan Garcia of Los Angeles will be taking on Francisco Fonseca of Nicaragua this Friday, February 14th in Anaheim, California. The 12 round bout can be seen live on DAZN in North America and on BoxNation in the UK. Garcia last fought in November when he stopped Romero Duno in just 98 seconds to win the vacant WBC Silver Lightweight Title and Duno’s WBO NABO Lightweight Crown. Fonseca’s last outing was also in November when he fought to a 12-round draw with Alex Dilmaghani in a shot for the vacant WBO Super Featherweight Belt.
The 25-year-old Fonseca possesses a mark of 25-2-2 with 19 Kos to his name. He stands just over 5-feet-7-inches tall with a reach of 69.5 inches. He’s fought 148 rounds since turning pro back in 2013 and also possesses pretty good power with a current knockout ratio of 65.5 per cent. Fonseca was beaten by Gervonta Davis by eighth-round stoppage in 2017 for the vacant IBF Super Featherweight Title. Davis came in overweight for the contest and the title was on the line for Fonseca only.
He also dropped a unanimous decision to Tevin Farmer in December of 2018 when Farmer was the the IBF Super Featherweight Champion. Along with drawing Dilmaghani in his last bout, Fonseca also fought to a four-round draw with Eduardo Urbina back in his pro debut in 2013. Since turning pro Fonseca has also won the IBF Inter-Continental Super Featherweight Championship and the WBO Latino Super Featherweight Strap.
The 21-year-old Garcia is a perfect 19-0 and has 16 big Kos for a current knockout ratio of 84/2 per cent. He’s 5-feet-10-inches tall with a 70-inch reach which gives him a 2.5-inch height advantage over Fonseca with a minimal half-inch edge in reach. Garcia made his pro debut in 2016 and has boxed 59 rounds since. Since turning pro he’s captured the vacant NABF Junior Super Featherweight Title as well as the NABF, and WBO NABO Super Featherweight Crowns.
Garcia’s toughest opponent to date was veteran Jayson Velez who went the distance with him in may of 2018 only to lose a 10-round unanimous decision for the vacant NABF and WBO titles. Garcia’s also beaten the likes of Carlos Morales, Jose Lopez, Braulio Rodriguez, Fernando Vargas Parra and Noe Martinez Raygoza. Garcia’s being groomed to be a future world champion by promoter Oscar De La Hoya and he appears to have all the tools necessary to succeed and was named the 2017 prospect of the year by ESPN.
He enjoyed a fine amateur career by going 215-15. He won a silver medal at the USA Junior National (Under-17) Championships in 2014 when he lost to Devin Haney in the final. He made the quarterfinals at the USA Youth National (Under-19) Championships in 2015 and lost to Haney once again. However, he did beat Vergil Ortiz in his opening bout. He then won gold at the USA Youth National (Under-19) Championships in 2016.
Prediction…
Fonseca’s a durable boxer with a decent chin but he’s fallen short when stepping up in class against Gervonta Davis, Tevin Farmer and Alex Dilmaghani. Garcia looks like he’s a cant-miss prospect and this is a decent test for him. It’s also one he should pass as he continues to climb his way up the rankings.
