Emerging lightweight Ryan Garcia will make his first appearance in the New Year on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, against Francisco Fonseca at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, Golden Boy Promotions and DAZN announced this week.
Garcia (19-0, 16 KOs) set the stage for a promising 2020 with a stunning first-round stoppage of Filipino Romero Duno on Nov. 2 on a card that featured Canelo Alvarez’s 10th-round knockout of Sergey Kovalev at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.
“I’m very excited to be in the ring once again,” Garcia said in a release announcing the bout. “I’m looking to shock the world this year. I’m going to show the boxing world that I’m here forever.”
Fonseca (25-2-2, 19 KOs) is coming off a draw with Alex Dilmaghani on Nov. 16 in London.
“When I face Ryan Garcia, I will expose him on his own territory,’’ said Fonseca, a Nicaraguan.
Former lightweight champion Jorge Linares (46-5, 28 KO) also is expected to be on the card, setting up a possible Linares-Garcia bout if both win. An opponent for Linares has yet to be announced.