Ryan Garcia-Oscar Duarte junior welterweight

The junior welterweight showdown between Ryan Garcia and Oscar Duarte is set to headline a DAZN event on December 2nd, taking place at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Initially, Duarte was considered a frontrunner for this bout when the target date was November 18th.

In 2023, Garcia's sole fight was a seventh-round knockout loss to Gervonta "Tank" Davis on April 22nd, in a Showtime Pay-Per-View headliner that became the highest-grossing event of the year. It reportedly sold 1.2 million PPV units and generated approximately $22.8 million in ticket sales from a capacity crowd of 20,842 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. This fight solidified Davis' status as the industry's leading attraction and showcased Garcia's drawing power, despite notable tensions between the promoter and the fighter.

During the promotion, Hall of Famers Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins were conspicuously absent from the post-fight press conference, and Garcia's trainer of over a year, Joe Goossen, also parted ways with him, citing an amicable split. The public dispute between Garcia and his estranged promoter spilled onto Twitter, and a lawsuit was filed against Garcia.

Efforts are being made to reconcile their differences, with a mediation session scheduled for October 18th in the hopes of resolving any lingering issues. Garcia, who was previously a top lightweight contender, last fought at lightweight when he scored a seventh-round knockout over Luke Campbell. After leaving trainer Eddy Reynoso, with whom he trained since late 2018, Garcia had three fights with Goossen, all above the lightweight limit, including wins over Emmanuel Tagoe and Javier Fortuna in 2022.

Garcia has now joined the training stable of Derrick James, the 2022 Trainer of the Year, in the greater Dallas area. He has also announced plans to train in Las Vegas in preparation for his upcoming return.

Duarte, on the other hand, will move up in weight and class for this bout. The 27-year-old fighter from Parral, Chihuahua, bounced back from a split decision loss to Adrian Estrella in February 2019 with eleven consecutive wins, all of which came by way of knockout. This match against Garcia represents a weight division shift for Duarte, who has spent the majority of his ten-year career in the lightweight category.