After weeks of speculation and various names being bandied about, Ryan Garcia’s return to the ring is set. He and Oscar De La Hoya revealed today that “Kingry” will face Ghana’s Emmanuel Tagoe on April 9th at San Antonio’s Alamodome.
I wanna thank Emmanuel tagoe for taking this fight, no one wanted to fight me bc they assumed i wouldn’t fight… I respect you and let’s give everyone a fight
— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) February 4, 2022
The WBO actually ordered this fight as a final eliminator way back in mid-2020, when both men sat in the sanctioning body’s lightweight top three. Garcia (21-0, 18 KO) instead elected to face and ultimately defeat Luke Campbell for the interim WBC title, while Tagoe (32-1 ), who hasn’t lost since dropping his pro debut, stayed busy with a majority decision over Mason Menard in November 2020.
Tagoe’s a respectable-enough comeback opponent, certainly better than previously named possibilities like Mercito Gesta and Saul Rodriguez. He’s coming off a huge layoff and failed to impress his last time out, but Garcia’s entering with a lot of baggage as well. Sure hope there’s another big fight or two on the card, though.