Ryan Garcia, Javier Fortuna Reportedly Agree to Contract for July 16 Fight

Ryan Garcia and Javier Fortuna have reportedly agreed to fight on July 16 after their previously scheduled bout was called off last year.

According to ESPN's Mike Coppinger, the fight will be contested at 135 pounds and will take place at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on DAZN.

Garcia and Fortuna had been scheduled to box last July, but Garcia announced a few months before the fight that he was withdrawing to focus on his mental health.

The 23-year-old Garcia was supposed to return to the ring in November 2021 against Joseph Diaz Jr., but Garcia suffered a wrist injury that required surgery, forcing the cancellation of that fight as well.

Garcia finally returned to action on April 9 when he defeated Emmanuel Tagoe by unanimous decision in San Antonio, Texas, improving his career professional record to 22-0 with 18 wins by way of knockout.

Fortuna, 32, fought Diaz last July, and Diaz beat him by unanimous decision, winning the WBC interim lightweight title in the process.

The Dominican Republic native bounced back in his next fight in February, knocking out Rafael Hernandez to improve to 37-3-1 with 26 knockout victories in his career.

Fortuna is standing between Garcia and a potential superfight against Gervonta "Tank" Davis, who knocked out Rolando Romero over the weekend to improve to 27-0 and retain the WBA (Regular) lightweight title.

After Davis' win, Garcia tweeted the following about wanting to face Davis in December following his July fight:

Garcia vs. Davis would be one of the biggest possible fights in boxing as both fighters are undefeated and well under 30 years of age, perhaps making them the future of the sport.

First, Garcia must conquer quite possibly the biggest challenge of his career in Fortuna, who is arguably the biggest name he has faced yet, along with Luke Campbell, who the American knocked out in January 2021.