Ryan Garcia is poised for his comeback to the boxing ring.
Following a seventh-round knockout loss to Gervonta Davis in April, the 140-pound contender is scheduled to face Mexico's Oscar Duarte on December 2 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, as reported by ESPN.
Duarte (26-1-1, 21 KOs) has registered 11 consecutive knockout victories since his decision loss to Adrian Estrella in 2019. However, Garcia represents a significant step up in competition. Additionally, the 27-year-old from Parral, Chihuahua, will be moving up from the 135-pound weight class for this bout.
Ryan Garcia's promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, commented on the matchup, saying, "Here you have a guy [Duarte] who’s coming off 11 KOs in a row. There’s a guy who’s a power puncher who’s going to come forward and make Ryan fight. It’s the proper fight after a knockout loss to Gervonta."
Garcia, a 25-year-old from Southern California, will be competing as a full-fledged 140-pound fighter for the third time. He previously secured a decision victory over Emmanuel Tagoe in April of the previous year at that weight, followed by a sixth-round stoppage of Javier Fortuna three months later. His loss to Davis took place at a catch weight of 136 pounds, with Davis securing the victory with a single body blow in a highly publicized bout between social media stars.
For his upcoming fight against Duarte, Ryan Garcia will be under the guidance of respected trainer Derrick James for the first time.
De La Hoya also hinted at future plans for Garcia if he emerges victorious against Duarte, stating, "We’re looking to do a major, major fight with Ryan, possibly around Super Bowl weekend. I would love to talk to Bob [Arum] to see what’s going on with him and Teofimo [Lopez], but there’s other options as well."