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Garcia Drops & Stops Fortuna In 6
By Albert Castillo
Photos: Marlene Marquez
From the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Oscar De La
Hoya’s Golden Boy Productions put together a card
featuring extremely popular Ryan “Kingry” Garcia (23-0,
19 KO’s). Garcia did not disappoint knocking out Javier
Fortuna (37-4-1, 26 KO’s) at 20 seconds of the 6th
round. Unfortunately, Fortuna was not the beast he
displayed against JoJo Diaz. He was far less aggressive
and did not pursue Garcia but once during the entire
battle.
Before the knockout Garcia dropped Fortuna in the fourth
round with a left hook to the body. Fortuna went down
and spit out his mouthpiece to buy himself more time.
The bell rung and he staggered back to his corner. In
the fifth round Garcia dropped Fortuna once again with a
right hand. Fortuna got up again but did not attempt to
make a fight of this contest. He was content to circle
and retreat for the most of the fight.
Finally in the sixth round Garcia put Fortuna down for
good with a right-left combination. Aside from the
knockout and knockdowns, an additional highlight was
when Garcia displayed amazing hand speed which drove the
crowd wild.
“I want to thank God first and foremost,” said Ryan
Garcia. “I know that I performed well for myself. I was
crisp, sharp and I stayed in my truth. I didn’t do
anything crazy. I know how good of a fighter I am, I
just had to put it all together, just like tonight.
Fortuna hit hard, he has a hard fist. Like I said when I
fight stronger opponents, I box better. Yes, I caught
him with a body shot. He thought I was going for the
head but I switched it on him. I felt he was going to
throw the Luke Campbell shot [the shot that dropped Ryan
against Campbell]. I feel like everyone is going to try
to hit me with that shot. I hit hard so it doesn’t take
much to hurt someone.”
“It felt like [I made] a statement to come back to the
timeline I was at. Mental health is a time to reflect on
yourself and get better for the future. That’s not
weakness, that’s strength! That’s courage! You saw me
today when I stepped in the ring. That’s nothing but
courage and skill.”
“I felt way better at this weight. I’m not going down to
135 for nothing. But I will fight Tank next if he wants
it at 140. I’ll make sure to record all the negotiations
so you can’t say I was ducking. I want that fight
because it’s going to give me the respect I deserve. I’m
never afraid. I have a spirit of competition in me and
you’re going to see that come out when I fight Tank and
whoop his ass.”
In this WBA Super Featherweight Title Eliminator match
up, Lamont Roach (23-1-1, 9 KO’s) outlasted Colombian,
Angel Rodriguez (20-2, 10 KO’s) winning a unanimous
decision and earning himself a title shot. The contest
was typical of light hitters who occasionally connected
but could not shake up the other amid fans relentless
booing.
However, Roach landed a crisp right hand on the jaw that
buckled the knees of Rodriguez and the fans went from
jeers to cheers. But Roach couldn’t close the deal and
the bout went an uninteresting 12 rounds. To Roach’s
credit he did pursue Rodriguez the entire fight but
their styles did not make for a good fight. Judges
scorecards read 117-111, 116-112, and 116-112 all in
favor of Roach.
The DAZN TV opener featured Rialto’s Ricardo Sandoval
(20-2, 15 KO’s) and Costa Rican David Jimenez (12-0, 9
KO’s) in a WBA Flyweight Title Eliminator bout. This
hotly contested rumble was difficult to score as both
fighters put together solid performances on both offense
and defense. In the seventh round without a warning,
referee Thomas Taylor took a point away from Jimenez for
holding.
Then, in the eleventh round Jimenez dropped Sandoval
with a right hand. Sandoval quickly recovered. In the
12th round both fighters came out swinging for the
knockout. Neither accomplished the feat. In the end the
judges scored it 114-112, 114-112, and 113-113 for a
majority win decision for David Jimenez.
“I’m happy and grateful for this new victory,” said
David Jimenez. “We executed our game plan perfectly. In
the first 6 rounds it was a lot of movement and aiming.
After the sixth round I started to take advantage. My
rival was very tough and stubborn. He has a lot ahead of
him. I'm going to go home after this victory and spend
time with my family then get back into the gym.”
“I felt like I was boxing him correctly so I feel very
good,” said Ricardo Sandoval. “I was also countering him
downstairs and upstairs. But you know these things
happen. I felt like I won the fight. The people won
tonight and got one hell of a fight.”
In the Co-Main event for the vacant WBO Organization
NABO Welterweight Title, the pride of Santa Ana, CA,
Alexis Rocha (20-1, 13 KO’s) dominated Luis Alberto
Veron (19-5-2, 9 KO’s).
Veron appeared over matched as Rocha took the fight to
him and Veron never wanted to mix it up. Rocha fought a
perfect fight setting up his jabs with well-placed
combinations. Not the most exciting fight but a good
workout for Rocha who continues on the road to a world
championship. Judges scored it 100-90, 100-90, and 99-91
all in favor of Rocha.
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