Ryan Garcia didn’t get a knockout in his comeback fight against Emmanuel Tagoe on Saturday in San Antonio, as many expected. Otherwise, he couldn’t have been much more dominating.
Garcia put Tagoe down in the second round and outclassed the Ghanaian from beginning to end to win a wide decision and underscore his position as a top lightweight contender in his first fight in 15 months.
Garcia (22-0, 18 KOs) had last fought in January of last year, when he got up from a knockdown to stop Luke Campbell in seven rounds. He soon took time off to tend to his mental health.
He returned to the ring with renewed determination and a new trainer in his corner, Joe Goossen. And he hoped to make a good impression in front of a partisan crowd at the Alamodome.
However, Tagoe (32-2, 15 KOs) made that difficult by emphasizing survival more than putting himself in a position to win the fight. He ran, Garcia chased.
Garcia provided the first dramatic moment about midway through the second round, when a right hand put Tagoe down. However, he got up and did what it took to avoid taking another big shot.
Most of the rest of the fight followed the same pattern, Garcia marching after Tagoe, landing power shots consistently but not doing enough to end the fight.
Tagoe, finding some courage, began to stand his ground more late in the fight. That allowed him to land a effective punches here and there. It also almost led to disaster, as Garcia hurt him badly with a right hand in Round 10.
Again, Tagoe, an intelligent boxer, held and used his feet to survive the round and ultimately hear the final bell.
The official scores were 119-108, 119-108 and 118-109. Boxing Junkie scored it 120-107, a shutout for Garcia.
“He was moving a lot,” Garcia said. “I’m not going to lie; that was a new experience. I have to cut off the ring better against a guy who just keeps moving all 12 rounds. … I think if I started pressing him harder in the beginning of the fight, I would’ve gotten him out of there.
“What can I say? It was hard to track him down.”
Of course, with the victory, Garcia, one of the biggest attractions in the sport, is back in the thick of the 135-pound title hunt.
He was asked afterward whether he believes he’s ready to face a prospective opponent like Gervonta Davis but, evidently taking a more measured approach to selling himself, didn’t bite at the chance to talk some trash.
“In the past, I’m always with the call-outs,” said the 23-year-old. “I’ve grown, I’ve matured. I’ll let my team handle it. … When it’s on, it’s on. Right now I trust my team.”
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