Jorge Linares has accepted Ryan Garcia fight for July 11 says Eric Gomez

Boxingnews24.com

By Jim Maltzman

Eric Gomez of Golden Boy has confirmed that Jorge Linares has accepted a fight against Ryan Garcia on July 11, and he just needs to go over the “details” to get the fight done. Like Ryan’s last match against Francisco Fonseca, his bout against Linares will be streamed on DAZN.

Gomez says the date for the Garcia vs. Linares fight could change during negotiations, but for now, they’re looking at the 11th of July. The fight will be taking place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

Ryan Garcia to fight for a world title if he shines against Linares

Gomez isn’t entirely sure whether the 21-year-old Ryan (20-0, 17 KOs) can pass this test in facing the former 3-division world champion Linares (47-5, 29 KOs) at this early juncture in his 4-year pro career, but he wants that fight. Eric is hoping that Garcia wins and looks spectacular.

If Ryan shines against Jorge, then Gomez plans on setting up a world title shot against one of the champions at 135. Although Eric didn’t say who he would match Garcia up against for the world title fight, it’ll likely be the winner of the Luke Campbell vs. Javier Fortuna fight.

Those two will be fighting soon for the vacant WBC lightweight title that was stripped from injured champion Devin Haney. He’s now the ‘Champion in Recess,’ and will be able to fight for his old title as soon as he’s healthy.

Ryan Garcia will need to deal with adversity

“There’s interest on both sides. We just have to go over the details,” said Eric Gomez to Fino Boxing on a fight between Ryan Garcia and Linares. “We’re going to be meeting with Ryan very soon to sit down and go over the details. Linares has accepted the fight.

“It’s just a matter of going over some details. The date is July 11th. It could change, but that’s part of setting up a fight. I think that’s the right fight for him [Ryan Garcia]. A lot of the media is going to give him credit for doing this fight, and a lot of fans are going to be giving him credit or doing this fight.

“They both looked spectacular 2 weeks ago, and both had big knockout wins, and it’s a natural fight to make,” Gomez said on the Ryan Garcia vs. Linares match-up.

“I hope it’s NOT another first-round knockout because he’s had [two in a row], but I doubt that’s going to happen,” Gomez said on Ryan Garcia having stopped his last 2 opponents in the first round.News:Mikey Garcia wants Pacquiao fight after he beats Jessie Vargas on Saturday

“Jorge Linares is a seasoned veteran, and one of the top fighters in the world still. He’s going to have to have his A-game,” said Gomez on Ryan Garcia. “He’s going to have to go through some adversity.”

This is a monstrous step up in class for the inexperienced Garcia, and he may not be ready for the highly skilled Linares. One hint that Ryan may be biting off more than he can chew in facing the veteran Linares is how the two did against a common opponent Carlos Morales.

A year and a half ago, Garcia won a controversial 10 round majority decision over Morales on September 1, 2018, in Indio, California. Many boxing fans felt that Morales should have won.News:Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Samuel Vargas kickoff press conference quotes

A World title shot next for Ryan Garcia if he wins

“I think Jorge is good enough to land some pretty big punches on Ryan, and we’re going to see how well Ryan takes it from a world-class athlete like Jorge Linares,” Eric said. “It’s a very good fight. I personally feel it’s one of the best match-ups that can be made in boxing right now for their level fighters, which is not championship level fighters.

“But we’re excited about that, and we’re going to do our best to get it done,” Gomez said of the Garcia-Linares bout. “If we can get it done, we’re all going to have the next few months of great fights. If he dominates Jorge Linares, then he’s ready right after that,” said Gomez when asked when Ryan Garcia will be ready to fight for a world title.

“It really depends on his next performance against Linares. If he struggles against Linares, then we might take a step back and wait a little bit more, but he’s ready now. Just like Vergil [Ortiz Jr.], they’re both young, hungry lions, and they’re ready to take on the world.

“He [Ryan Garcia] wants to fight Devin Haney, he wants to fight Gervonte Davis, and he wants to fight all the top fighters. Again, that’s a trait of a future great fighter that they aim really high.

“That’s what we tell all our young kids, ‘You’ve got to ain really high. You might not get there, but you’ll get very far,” said Gomez.

Linares is arguably a couple of steps below the top-level fighters in the lightweight division, but he’s got skills that will give Ryan problems if he doesn’t knock him out immediately. The problem Garcia has is he’s one-dimensional on offense. He looks to throw his left hook power shot 90% of the time, and he’s very predictable.