Ryan Garcia vs. Javier Fortuna fight prediction, undercard, start time, odds, preview, expert pick

Ryan Garcia has become a polarizing figure in boxing, but fans and critics agree on one thing: they want to see the 23-year-old take a step up in his level of competition. T

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To do so, Garcia first needs to get past Javier Fortuna in their lightweight clash on Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles (8 p.m., DAZN).

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Despite being young, Garcia (22-0, 18 KO) has shown tremendous promise with speed and power to go along with solid size for the 135-pound division.

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He also has amassed a large following on social media, making him one of boxing's most visible stars while also offending many traditionalists in a sport that has dragged behind the times for decades as a fighter who "cares more about his social media than boxing."

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Garcia has done everything asked of him in the ring to date, with his lone stumble coming in a bout with Luke Campbell for the interim WBC lightweight title. In that fight, Garcia ate a left hand in the second round that dropped him to the canvas

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Garcia was able to quickly get to his feet and got back on track before landing a beautiful left hook to the body in Round 8 that forced Campbell to take two steps backward before taking a knee and accepting a 10-count.

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Garcia was set to face Fortuna in July 2021 but withdrew from the bout to address mental-health concerns. He then withdrew from a planned November bout with Joseph Diaz Jr.,

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the man who'd stepped in and defeated Fortuna when Garcia pulled out of the fight. Again, Garcia pulled out of a fight, this time needing surgery to fix a hand injury. He returned to the ring this past February, taking a unanimous decision over a very awkward Emmanuel Tagoe.

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While dominating overmatched opponents, Garcia has constantly talked up fights with the other young stars in the talent-loaded lightweight division, including Devin Haney and social media rival Gervonta "Tank" Davis. That level of step-up fight needs to come eventually, but it may not be after the fight with Fortuna.

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The other interesting angle is that this fight is not actually taking place at lightweight. The two camps agreed to a catchweight of 140 pounds for this fight and Garcia hinted at possibly moving up to junior welterweight full time.

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"I was thinking the other day that I might never go back to 135," Garcia said during an interview with DAZN.

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