The celebrated ring return of one of boxing’s rising young stars saw the 23-year-old lightweight contender end a career-long 15-month layoff with a near-shutout win over Tagoe. Judges Tom Carusone (119-108), Lisa Giampa (118-109) and Ellis Johnson (119-108) all ruled in favor of Garcia, who went the twelve-round distance for the first time in his career in the DAZN main event Saturday evening in front of a passionate crowd of 14,495 at Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Tagoe spent much of the opening round fighting from the outside, using constant lateral movement but to the detriment of sacrificing his offense. Garcia quickly closed the gap, connecting with a right hand late in the round and drawing raucous cheers anytime the Victorville, California native threw a punch.
Garcia (22-0, 18 KOs) came out looking to put Tagoe away in the first round. He was pounding the body with his patented left hook and throwing the overhand right. Garcia nearly put him away in the second as he stopped him in his tracks with a right, and Tagoe held on. They came out of the clinch, and Garcia threw a short right that made Tagoe spin and drop to the canvas. As he was the theme for the remainder of the fight, Tagoe held on to survive.
Garcia showed no signs of being off for 15 months, and his right hand looked as good as ever as the 23-year-old dropped Tagoe in the second round and dominated until the final bell.
Garcia continued to assert his dominance and attempted to put Tagoe away. He kept stalking Tagoe, landing the left hook and the overhand right. But Tagoe showed a good chin and knew when to hold onto Garcia.
There was one final chance for Garcia to close the show for the rabid crowd. During the 10th round, a right wobbled Tagoe into the ropes. Garcia went for it all but to Tagoe’s credit, he grabbed and clung onto Garcia, who went 12 rounds for the first time.
The obvious question now is what’s next for Garcia? Plenty of talk has centered around a super fight between Garcia and Gervonta “Tank” Davis. However, Garcia didn’t commit to that being his next outing because he doesn’t want to disappoint the fans.
“In the past, I’m always those callouts,” Garcia said. “But, I’ve grown and matured, and I’m going to let my team handle it. When it’s on, it’s on. But as of right now, I’m going to trust my team, and we’re going to move forward.”
Here is what happened at Ryan Garcia vs. Emmanuel Tagoe.
Tagoe tried his best to keep his distance using an ineffective jab.
Garcia visibly hurt Tageo in the 10th round, but the Ghanaian fighter resorted to holding Garcia to prevent further punishment.
Ultimately, the judges ruled in Garcia’s favour with scores of 119-108, 118-109, 119-108 for a victory by unanimous decision.
