The reports suggesting that Ryan Garcia would make his return on December 2nd against Oscar Duarte have been confirmed. The two will be headlining a 12-round fight at super lightweight at a yet-to-be-determined venue in the United States. Additionally, the fight card will be promoted by Golden Boy and broadcasted by DAZN.
Ryan Garcia (23-1, 19 KO’s) has taken on the challenge of facing Oscar Duarte (26-1-1, 21 KO’s) following his April 22nd loss to Gervonta Davis (29-0, 27 KO’s). Garcia will be returning to super lightweight, where he had fought twice previously before his fight with Davis. The 25-year-old American has looked impressive at super lightweight so far, amassing a record of 2-0 with one knockout victory and one clear unanimous decision.
Duarte, a hard-hitting American lightweight with a similarly high KO ratio (80%) as Garcia, will also be moving up to 140 lbs from lightweight for this fight —a weight class he last fought in during 2022 when he scored a knockout victory over his opponent.
Oscar Duarte is also part of the same Golden Boy Promotions stable that Ryan Garcia is signed to. Oscar De La Hoya, Golden Boy’s founder and CEO, was quick to dismiss any criticism aimed at Garcia due to the assumption that he will be facing an “easy opponent.”
“People who do not know boxing are just plain stupid. How can you knock Ryan when he’s fighting a KO artist like Oscar Duarte?” Oscar De La Hoya tweeted on October 3rd.
“When you get knocked out, you choose a big risk for your next fight.“
Though Garcia’s opponent has a similarly high KO rate as him, there are some doubts about Garcia’s choice of opponent, given that he has moved in and out of the 140 lbs division and cannot firmly be regarded as a natural super lightweight.
The tactic employed by promoters of bringing in opponents from different weight classes to face their fighters has also been used for Gervonta Davis, Ryan Garcia’s former rival, whose last three opponents had all either moved up or down in weight class.
At this point, Oscar Duarte can still be seen as a confidence-boosting opponent for Ryan Garcia, but his power, among other factors, may pose a legitimate threat to Garcia’s career, given the eleven-match stoppage/knockout streak he has been on.
Ryan Garcia will be making his comeback under the tutelage of his new coach, Derrick James.
