Tag: Garcia vs Tagoe

Ryan Garcia didn’t get a knockout in his comeback fight against Emmanuel Tagoe on Saturday in San Antonio, as many expected. Otherwise, he couldn’t have been much more dominating.

Garcia put Tagoe down in the second round and outclassed the Ghanaian from beginning to end to win a wide decision and underscore his position as a top lightweight contender in his first fight in 15 months.

Garcia (22-0, 18 KOs) had last fought in January of last year, when he got up from a knockdown to stop Luke Campbell in seven rounds. He soon took time off to tend to his mental health.

He returned to the ring with renewed determination and a new trainer in his corner, Joe Goossen. And he hoped to make a good impression in front of a partisan crowd at the Alamodome.

However, Tagoe (32-2, 15 KOs) made that difficult by emphasizing survival more than putting himself in a position to win the fight. He ran, Garcia chased.

Garcia provided the first dramatic moment about midway through the second round, when a right hand put Tagoe down. However, he got up and did what it took to avoid taking another big shot.

Most of the rest of the fight followed the same pattern, Garcia marching after Tagoe, landing power shots consistently but not doing enough to end the fight.

Tagoe, finding some courage, began to stand his ground more late in the fight. That allowed him to land a effective punches here and there. It also almost led to disaster, as Garcia hurt him badly with a right hand in Round 10.

Again, Tagoe, an intelligent boxer, held and used his feet to survive the round and ultimately hear the final bell.

The official scores were 119-108, 119-108 and 118-109. Boxing Junkie scored it 120-107, a shutout for Garcia.

“He was moving a lot,” Garcia said. “I’m not going to lie; that was a new experience. I have to cut off the ring better against a guy who just keeps moving all 12 rounds. … I think if I started pressing him harder in the beginning of the fight, I would’ve gotten him out of there.

“What can I say? It was hard to track him down.”

Of course, with the victory, Garcia, one of the biggest attractions in the sport, is back in the thick of the 135-pound title hunt.

He was asked afterward whether he believes he’s ready to face a prospective opponent like Gervonta Davis but, evidently taking a more measured approach to selling himself, didn’t bite at the chance to talk some trash.

“In the past, I’m always with the call-outs,” said the 23-year-old. “I’ve grown, I’ve matured. I’ll let my team handle it. … When it’s on, it’s on. Right now I trust my team.”

Ryan Garcia didn’t get a knockout in his comeback fight against Emmanuel Tagoe on Saturday in San Antonio, as many expected. Otherwise, he couldn’t have been much more dominating.

Garcia put Tagoe down in the second round and outclassed the Ghanaian from beginning to end to win a wide decision and underscore his position as a top lightweight contender in his first fight in 15 months.

Garcia (22-0, 18 KOs) had last fought in January of last year, when he got up from a knockdown to stop Luke Campbell in seven rounds. He soon took time off to tend to his mental health.

He returned to the ring with renewed determination and a new trainer in his corner, Joe Goossen. And he hoped to make a good impression in front of a partisan crowd at the Alamodome.

However, Tagoe (32-2, 15 KOs) made that difficult by emphasizing survival more than putting himself in a position to win the fight. He ran, Garcia chased.

Garcia provided the first dramatic moment about midway through the second round, when a right hand put Tagoe down. However, he got up and did what it took to avoid taking another big shot.

Most of the rest of the fight followed the same pattern, Garcia marching after Tagoe, landing power shots consistently but not doing enough to end the fight.

Tagoe, finding some courage, began to stand his ground more late in the fight. That allowed him to land a effective punches here and there. It also almost led to disaster, as Garcia hurt him badly with a right hand in Round 10.

Again, Tagoe, an intelligent boxer, held and used his feet to survive the round and ultimately hear the final bell.

The official scores were 119-108, 119-108 and 118-109. Boxing Junkie scored it 120-107, a shutout for Garcia.

“He was moving a lot,” Garcia said. “I’m not going to lie; that was a new experience. I have to cut off the ring better against a guy who just keeps moving all 12 rounds. … I think if I started pressing him harder in the beginning of the fight, I would’ve gotten him out of there.

“What can I say? It was hard to track him down.”

Of course, with the victory, Garcia, one of the biggest attractions in the sport, is back in the thick of the 135-pound title hunt.

He was asked afterward whether he believes he’s ready to face a prospective opponent like Gervonta Davis but, evidently taking a more measured approach to selling himself, didn’t bite at the chance to talk some trash.

“In the past, I’m always with the call-outs,” said the 23-year-old. “I’ve grown, I’ve matured. I’ll let my team handle it. … When it’s on, it’s on. Right now I trust my team.”

Editor’s note: This article was originally posted at DAZN.com.

SAN ANTONIO — Ryan Garcia and Emmanuel Tagoe don’t fight until Saturday at the Alamodome. But if Wednesday was any indication, we should expect fireworks.

At open workouts Wednesday, Tagoe was in the ring waiting for Garcia to come into the ring for a stare down. Not only did they go face-to-face, the fighters nearly came to blows.

Garcia looked as if he would walk away when he and Tagoe kept jawing at one another. Someone was trying to simmer things down, but the 23-year-old was having none of it.

“What you going to do?” Garcia shouted at Tagoe. “We can do it right now. You ain’t going to do s—. Look at you, look at you.”

It was hard to hear what Tagoe was saying to Garcia, who continued the verbal assault.

“Keep talking that,” Garcia continued. “What are you going to do right now? It’s about to be game over. I promise you that.”

More people went into the ring as Garcia and Tagoe tried to go at one another. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed even though the crowd wanted to see a fight. Garcia walked to the corner, threw up his right fist and shouted out, “Let’s go.”

Earlier in the week, Tagoe told DAZN that he felt Garcia was afraid of him. In Tagoe’s opinion, that’s why Garcia initially didn’t want to fight last January and instead chose to face Luke Campbell, who he stopped via seventh-round TKO.

“Ryan knows he’s scared of me for a long time,” Tagoe told DAZN. “I don’t know the reason why [Garcia didn’t fight me]. I’ll fight Ryan Garcia. He didn’t fight with me. He fight with Luke Campbell. After that, he sit down a year time before he decides to fight me.

“I think Ryan doesn’t have a chance and doesn’t bring anything to the table for me. I think he’s scared of me. That’s why he chose Luke Campbell.”

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Editor’s note: This article was originally posted at DAZN.com.

SAN ANTONIO — Ryan Garcia and Emmanuel Tagoe don’t fight until Saturday at the Alamodome. But if Wednesday was any indication, we should expect fireworks.

At open workouts Wednesday, Tagoe was in the ring waiting for Garcia to come into the ring for a stare down. Not only did they go face-to-face, the fighters nearly came to blows.

Garcia looked as if he would walk away when he and Tagoe kept jawing at one another. Someone was trying to simmer things down, but the 23-year-old was having none of it.

“What you going to do?” Garcia shouted at Tagoe. “We can do it right now. You ain’t going to do s—. Look at you, look at you.”

It was hard to hear what Tagoe was saying to Garcia, who continued the verbal assault.

“Keep talking that,” Garcia continued. “What are you going to do right now? It’s about to be game over. I promise you that.”

More people went into the ring as Garcia and Tagoe tried to go at one another. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed even though the crowd wanted to see a fight. Garcia walked to the corner, threw up his right fist and shouted out, “Let’s go.”

Earlier in the week, Tagoe told DAZN that he felt Garcia was afraid of him. In Tagoe’s opinion, that’s why Garcia initially didn’t want to fight last January and instead chose to face Luke Campbell, who he stopped via seventh-round TKO.

“Ryan knows he’s scared of me for a long time,” Tagoe told DAZN. “I don’t know the reason why [Garcia didn’t fight me]. I’ll fight Ryan Garcia. He didn’t fight with me. He fight with Luke Campbell. After that, he sit down a year time before he decides to fight me.

“I think Ryan doesn’t have a chance and doesn’t bring anything to the table for me. I think he’s scared of me. That’s why he chose Luke Campbell.”

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Lightweight contender Ryan Garcia returns to the ring against Emmanuel Tagoe on Saturday in San Antonio on DAZN.

Ryan Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) vs. Emmanuel Tagoe (32-1, 15 KOs)

• Date: Saturday, April 9
• Time: 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT
• Where: Alamodome, San Antonio
• TV/Stream: DAZN
• Cost: DAZN is $19.99 per month or $99 annually
• Division: Lightweight (135 pounds)
• Rounds: 12
• At stake: No major titles
• Pound-for-pound ranking: None
• Odds: Garcia 11½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
• Also on the card: Marlen Esparza vs. Naoko Fujioka, flyweights (for Esparza’s WBC and Fujioka’s WBA titles: Gabriel Rosado vs. Shane Mosley Jr., super middleweights; George Rincon vs. Alejandro Frias, junior welterweights
• Prediction: Garcia KO 5
• Background: The gifted, hard-punching Garcia is coming off his most sensational performance, one in which he got up from a knockdown to stop former Olympic champion Luke Campbell with a single body shot in the seventh round 15 months ago. He then teased potential fights against some of the biggest names in the sport only to take time off to tend to his mental health. Assuming he wins on Saturday – and he’s a significant favorite – one of the sport’s brightest young stars will be in a strong position to face undisputed champion George Kambosos or one of the other top lightweights next. He left trainer Eddy Reynoso and joined forces with Joe Goossen during his hiatus. Tagoe is a solid, experienced opponent. The Ghanaian lost his pro debut but has won every fight since, including a majority decision over Mason Menard in November 2020. That was his most-recent fight, meaning he will have been inactive a few months longer than Garcia. This will be the native of Accra’s third fight in the United States.

[lawrence-related id=29079,28568,28224,27612]

 

Lightweight contender Ryan Garcia returns to the ring against Emmanuel Tagoe on Saturday in San Antonio on DAZN.

Ryan Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) vs. Emmanuel Tagoe (32-1, 15 KOs)

• Date: Saturday, April 9
• Time: 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT
• Where: Alamodome, San Antonio
• TV/Stream: DAZN
• Cost: DAZN is $19.99 per month or $99 annually
• Division: Lightweight (135 pounds)
• Rounds: 12
• At stake: No major titles
• Pound-for-pound ranking: None
• Odds: Garcia 11½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
• Also on the card: Marlen Esparza vs. Naoko Fujioka, flyweights (for Esparza’s WBC and Fujioka’s WBA titles: Gabriel Rosado vs. Shane Mosley Jr., super middleweights; George Rincon vs. Alejandro Frias, junior welterweights
• Prediction: Garcia KO 5
• Background: The gifted, hard-punching Garcia is coming off his most sensational performance, one in which he got up from a knockdown to stop former Olympic champion Luke Campbell with a single body shot in the seventh round 15 months ago. He then teased potential fights against some of the biggest names in the sport only to take time off to tend to his mental health. Assuming he wins on Saturday – and he’s a significant favorite – one of the sport’s brightest young stars will be in a strong position to face undisputed champion George Kambosos or one of the other top lightweights next. He left trainer Eddy Reynoso and joined forces with Joe Goossen during his hiatus. Tagoe is a solid, experienced opponent. The Ghanaian lost his pro debut but has won every fight since, including a majority decision over Mason Menard in November 2020. That was his most-recent fight, meaning he will have been inactive a few months longer than Garcia. This will be the native of Accra’s third fight in the United States.

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Lightweight contender Ryan Garcia evidently is ready to throw down even though his comeback fight against Emmanuel Tagoe is still more than a week away in San Antonio.

Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) hasn’t fought since he got up from a knockdown to stop Luke Campbell in seven rounds in January of last year. The 23-year-old social media sensation took time off to tend to his mental health and change trainers. He now works with Joe Goossen.

The Garcia-Tagoe fight will be streamed on DAZN.

“Now I’m at the point where I’m going to do amazing when I get into the ring,” he said during a workout for the media Tuesday in San Diego. “I’ve done all the promotion I can. I’m going to be the best I can be. You have to trust that gut feeling which most guys don’t.

“I knew Joe Goossen was going to be a perfect fit for me. He’s old school, and I love that part of the game. He’s someone I can relate to. We have good chemistry.”

Goossen feels the same way.

“I knew he had something special,” the veteran trainer said. “We got along and there was something about him that appealed to me personality-wise and fighting-wise. He’s really attacking this like he’s obsessed and possessed.

“I’m genuinely impressed.”

Tagoe (32-1, 15 KOs) is a solid opponent. The 33-year-old Ghanaian has fought primarily in his native country but he has beaten some notable opponents there, including Mzonke Fana and Moses Paulus

And he’s coming off a majority-decision victory over Mason Menard in October 2020. That means he will have been out of the ring for a longer period than Garcia.

Garcia said he’s prepared for anything Tagoe might throw at him.

“Fighters always try to pressure me,” he said. “We’ll see since I don’t know too much about this guy. I’ll just stay calm and surgically break him down or knock him out. I have pretty good timing and accuracy. I think that has really separated myself from other fighters.

“My power has been coming out more effortlessly. I’m also not getting as tired. Everything’s coming together.”

Lightweight contender Ryan Garcia evidently is ready to throw down even though his comeback fight against Emmanuel Tagoe is still more than a week away in San Antonio.

Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) hasn’t fought since he got up from a knockdown to stop Luke Campbell in seven rounds in January of last year. The 23-year-old social media sensation took time off to tend to his mental health and change trainers. He now works with Joe Goossen.

The Garcia-Tagoe fight will be streamed on DAZN.

“Now I’m at the point where I’m going to do amazing when I get into the ring,” he said during a workout for the media Tuesday in San Diego. “I’ve done all the promotion I can. I’m going to be the best I can be. You have to trust that gut feeling which most guys don’t.

“I knew Joe Goossen was going to be a perfect fit for me. He’s old school, and I love that part of the game. He’s someone I can relate to. We have good chemistry.”

Goossen feels the same way.

“I knew he had something special,” the veteran trainer said. “We got along and there was something about him that appealed to me personality-wise and fighting-wise. He’s really attacking this like he’s obsessed and possessed.

“I’m genuinely impressed.”

Tagoe (32-1, 15 KOs) is a solid opponent. The 33-year-old Ghanaian has fought primarily in his native country but he has beaten some notable opponents there, including Mzonke Fana and Moses Paulus

And he’s coming off a majority-decision victory over Mason Menard in October 2020. That means he will have been out of the ring for a longer period than Garcia.

Garcia said he’s prepared for anything Tagoe might throw at him.

“Fighters always try to pressure me,” he said. “We’ll see since I don’t know too much about this guy. I’ll just stay calm and surgically break him down or knock him out. I have pretty good timing and accuracy. I think that has really separated myself from other fighters.

“My power has been coming out more effortlessly. I’m also not getting as tired. Everything’s coming together.”

Ryan Garcia is returning to the ring. It’s official.

The popular lightweight contender, who took time away from boxing to tend to his mental health, is scheduled to fight Emmanuel Tagoe on April 9 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) was last in the ring in January of last year, when he stopped Luke Campbell with a body shot in the seventh round.

“I’m very excited. It’s been a long time, 15 months or so,” Garcia said at the kickoff news conference Wednesday in Los Angeles.

Garcia was one of the hottest boxers in the world at the time he took a break, both in terms of his success in the ring and his following on social media.

He expects to pick up where he left off against Tagoe (32-1, 15 KOs), a Ghanaian fighter who lost his pro debut but has been undefeated since.

“I had a vision when I was young,” said Garcia, 23. “I said this social media is going to play a big part in the game. I took advantage of that. And I wanted people to know the kid from Victorville (California). And that’s how I was able to show people that, ‘Yo, I’m coming.’

“And now it’s time to actually show it because everybody knows who I am. … Now I’m ready to go on a 20-year reign, maybe more.”

Tagoe is coming off a majority-decision victory over Mason Mennard in November 2020, meaning he will have been out of the ring longer than Garcia.

The 33-year-old resident of Accra is confident that he can beat Garcia.

“I know people don’t know me, but after this fight, people are going to ask, ‘Who is this guy!’? Tagoe said.

Of course, Garcia, working with new trainer Joe Goossen, is confident too, although he insists that he isn’t looking past Tagoe toward lucrative fights against top 135-pounders like George Kambosos, Devin Haney and Vasiliy Lomachenko.

“I have been boxing my whole life,” he said. “I know what it takes. I know the discipline you need, the sacrifices you have to make. What makes me feel confident is all the experience I have in the ring, over 200 amateur fights, 21 professional, been in some top training camps. I feel very comfortable and confident.

“I know whomever is in front of me, it will not be easy, that’s for sure. If it’s a quick or a long fight, I am ready for whatever.”