Ryan Garcia is officially making a return to the boxing ring, making it the first fight since he withdrew from his bout with Javier Fortuna to focus on his mental health.
Garcia has agreed to fight Joseph Diaz Jr. for the lightweight title and is reportedly “excited to be back.” ESPN obtained a quote from Garcia commenting on the fight stating, “Since he came out and beat Fortuna I took the opportunity to beat JoJo. Now it ends questions if I was scared to fight Fortuna. I’m excited to be back; I’m ready to continue my momentum where I left off. I missed the sport of boxing. I missed the ring. I missed sparring.”
Diaz is now expected to defend the WBC interim lightweight title against Garcia, who previously won the same belt with a knockout victory win over Luke Campbell earlier this year. Garci has delivered 21-0, winning with 18 KOs. Diaz on the other hand has 32-1-1 and has won with 15 KOs. In July, Diaz took on Fortuna in what has been argued as his biggest win to date.
Both fighters are from the Los Angeles area and it is only fitting that the fight is set in Los Angeles. Garica told ESPN, “L.A. finally has a fight to look forward to. A real fight with two people from L.A. county.” Garcia and Diaz go head-to-head on November 27.
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