Ryan Garcia has locked in his tune-up opponent…
The 24-year-old Mexican American professional boxer has signed a contract to fight Mercito Gesta in a January 28 fight in Phoenix, according to ESPN.
The 140-pound bout will serve as a tune-up for Garcia, who is slated to meet Gervonta Davis on April 15 in a Las Vegas superfight at a 136-pound catchweight.
Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) has his own tuneup January 7 against 130-pound titleholder Hector Luis Garcia in Washington.
Both Ryan Garcia and Davis must emerge victorious — and uninjured — from their respective January bouts to proceed with their April 15 pay-per-view showdown.
Davis’ trial for his alleged involvement in a hit-and-run crash, meanwhile, is scheduled for Feb. 16 in his native Baltimore, according to court records.
Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs) is one of the biggest stars in boxing, with 9 million followers on Instagram. He will be a heavy favorite against Gesta, a 35-year-old Filipino who has won two of his past five bouts.
The matchup with Gesta (33-3-3, 17 KOs) comes after a pair of victories for Garcia this year, both at 140 pounds. He scored a unanimous-decision win over fringe contender Emmanuel Tagoe in April and followed up with a sixth-round KO over perennial contender Javier Fortuna.
Garcia, who fights out of the San Diego area, picked up his career-best victory in January 2021 after he survived a knockdown to stop Luke Campbell in the seventh round.
He didn’t fight the rest of 2021 after he withdrew from a fight with Fortuna to address his mental health then had to scrap a bout with Joseph Diaz Jr. due to wrist surgery.
While Garcia is facing a genuine stay-busy opponent, Davis is meeting a boxer who broke through in 2022.
Hector Luis Garcia, a 10-1 underdog, routed Chris Colbert via unanimous decision in February before a wide-points victory over Roger Gutierrez earned him the WBA junior lightweight title.
The 31-year-old Dominican is ESPN’s No. 4 boxer at 130 pounds. Hector Luis Garcia (16-0, 10 KOs) will move up 5 pounds for the lightweight clash with Davis.
The fight will take place on the Terence Crawford–Israil Madrimov undercard presented by Riyadh Season, the first boxing event organized by Saudi Arabia outside the kingdom.