Ryan Garcia and Luke Campbell are set for Saturday’s main event on DAZN (Jan. 2, 3 pm ET), and most of tomorrow’s card from Dallas is also good to go after today’s weigh-in event.
Garcia (20-0, 17 KO) and Campbell (20-3, 16 KO) both came in at the lightweight limit of 135 pounds, and both looked in very good shape. Whatever this fight is going to be, they both very much look up for it.
“This is the opportunity I’ve waited for for a long time now, I’m glad to be here,” Campbell said. “I’ve been the underdog my whole career, even in the amateur days. That doesn’t bother me at all. I like the position I’m in.”
How to Watch Garcia vs Campbell
Date: Saturday, Jan. 2 | Start Time: 3:00 pm ET
Location: American Airlines Center – Dallas, TX
Stream: DAZN
Online Coverage: BadLeftHook.com
“I’m ready. The words have been said, everything’s done, I’m just ready to go,” Garcia said. “I’m prepared, 100 percent. I don’t take no man lightly. I’ve put in the work and I’m ready to show what I’m made of. We shall see in the ring. All I ask everybody watching is don’t blink.”
When DAZN commentator Todd Grisham mentioned the “Fire and Ice” promotional tagline for the bout, Garcia balked.
“Who made that up? You understand fire melts ice,” Garcia said.
When presented with the idea that cold water can put out fire, the young fighter wandered off, as he did not so much seem to want a response or a back-and-forth but simply to say the line he’d practiced. It was definitely a moment.
On the undercard, Rene Alvarado (32-8, 21 KO) and Roger Gutierrez (24-3-1, 20 KO) are set for a rematch of a 2017 fight that Alvarado won by seventh round stoppage. This time, they’re fighting for Alvarado’s secondary WBA “world” (regular) junior lightweight title. Alvarado weighed in at 129.4, with Gutierrez at 129.6, both below the 130-pound limit.
We’ll also see Rene’s twin brother Felix Alvarado (35-2, 30 KO) defend the IBF junior flyweight title against former 105-pound titlist DeeJay Kriel (16-1-1, 8 KO). Both fighters weighed in at 107.4, so below the 108-pound limit.
The DAZN portion of the card is also meant to feature a 10-round welterweight bout between Raul Curiel (8-0, 6 KO) and Ramses Agaton (22-12-3, 12 KO), but they did not weigh in. They were announced, but apparently they “couldn’t be found,” or one of them couldn’t be. We’ll see if they actually weigh in today, or if that fight is going to be scrapped.
Also on DAZN, Ryan’s brother Sean Garcia (5-0, 2 KO) will face Rene Marquez (5-5, 2 KO) in a four-round lightweight fight. Sean weighed in at 134.2, with Marquez at 134.4.
Golden Boy will also have these fights on their Facebook page starting at 2 pm ET, apparently, which means they’re going to try to squeeze in four fights in an hour before the DAZN broadcast begins:
- Tristan Kalkreuth 194.2 vs Jorge Martinez 198.4
- Asa Stevens 118.6 vs Francisco Bonilla 118
- Alex Rincon 155.4 vs Sergio Gonzalez 155.8
- Franchon Crews-Dezurn 171.4 vs Ashleigh Curry 176.2 (Curry was over the contracted weight limit, and we didn’t get word on the stream whether this would still go on)