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Ryan Garcia is expected to face Javier Fortuna in his next bout, according to fellow fighter Maxi Hughes.
Michael Benson, of talkSPORT, reports that Hughes was allegedly offered a fight with Garcia but turned it down, and has since heard that Fortuna accepted the offer. Benson said:
"Ryan Garcia looks set to fight Javier Fortuna next on July 16th, according to Maxi Hughes. Hughes said he turned down an offer for the fight which he felt was too low, and has since heard that Fortuna has accepted an offer."
Garcia most recently stepped into the ring with Emmanuel Tagoe, who he defeated via unanimous decision in April. Prior to that, he defeated Luke Campbell by seventh-round TKO in what was likely his toughest fight to date. Between the two bouts, 'KingRy' took a 15 month layoff.
Javier Fortuna, of the Dominican Republic, is a 32-year-old former Super Lightweight Champion. His most recent bout was against Rafael Hernandez in February of this year. He knocked Hernandez out in the first round. Prior to that, Fortuna fought Joseph Diaz, who beat him via unanimous decision. He won the WBA (Regular) Super Featherweight Title in 2015 after defeating Bryan Vázquez.
Ryan Garcia vs. Javier Fortuna
Ryan Garcia currently has a record of 22-0-0 with 18 knockouts. Javier Fortuna has a record of 37-3-1 with 26 knockouts.
Fortuna is the more experienced fighter of the two but is coming into the tail-end of his career, much like Tagoe, who Garcia fought in April. The opponents are likely intended to serve as ring experience for the fighter before he wades back into the deeper waters of the lightweight division.
Fortuna has had a great career in the professional ring. However, it has been seven years since he held his world title. He successfully defended the title against Carlos Ivan Velasquez in Las Vegas following his victory over Vasquez. However, he lost the belt just one fight later when he stepped into the ring with Jason Sosa in Beijing.
Ryan Garcia is expected to aim for a title shot soon after his next bout. The top fighters in his division are currently George Kambosos Jr., Devin Haney, Teofimo Lopez, Gervonta Davis, and Vasiliy Lomachenko. Kambosos and Haney are fighting to unify the belts in June.
