NEWS: RYAN GARCIA STAYS BUSY AGAINST MERCITO GESTA

By: Jay Calderon

According to reports by RingTV.com, rising star Ryan Garcia has a likely opponent for his January tune-up bout. Sources stated Garcia will take on veteran Mercito Gesta in Texas, with January 21 or January 28 as the preferred date.  

If successful, the bout will lead to his April showdown with fellow unbeaten contender and rival Gervonta Davis.

Garcia, 23-0 as a professional, is coming off a big win over former titlist Javier Fortuna back in July of this year, perhaps the biggest of his career. Now, assuming all goes well in the Gesta encounter, Garcia is looking to stay busy while awaiting a highly-anticipated showdown with the aforementioned Davis.

Davis himself, 27-0, is taking something of a stay-busy fight in January, when he takes on 130 pound title-holder Hector Garcia. Odd to call a titlist a stay-busy fight, but Hector will be moving up in weight for the contest, and has opened up as a considerable underdog.

That said, in comparing the tune-up selections, Davis has the tougher task on paper to say the least.

Hector, as mentioned, is a current titlist and has beaten quality names in his two most previous outings. Firstly, he handed Chris Colbert his first loss, before Hector took the portion of the Jr. Lightweight title he presently possesses from Roger Gutierrez. The unbeaten Garcia was the underdog in both of those affairs.

Gesta, meanwhile, is 35-years-old and has certainly seen better days. His biggest claims to fame come in title challenges to both Miguel Vazquez and Jorge Linares in 2012 and 2018, respectively. Both contests were thoroughly one-sided losses for Gesta.

That said, neither Ryan nor Gervonta seems in great danger of jeopardizing their April 23 (tentative date) encounter. Barring an injury or a serious cut, the pair of undefeated, hard-hitting Lightweights should be ready to go in the spring -- at a Catchweight of 136 pounds, of course.

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