Ryan Garcia vs. Emmanuel Tagoe Preview and Prediction

Ryan Garcia vs. Emmanuel Tagoe: Preview and Prediction

Modified Apr 06, 2022 22:32 IST

Garcia (left) vs. Tagoe (right) [Instagram: @kingryan]

Ryan Garcia and Emmanuel Tagoe will fight in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday, April 9th. The fight will occur on the same card as a unification bout between Marlen Esparza and Naoko Fujioka for the WBC and WBA Flyweight Titles.

Garcia has a current record of 21-0-0 with 18 knockouts. Tagoe has a record of 32-1-0 with 15 knockouts. Garcia fights out of Los Angeles, California, and Tagoe fights out of Accra, Ghana.

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Ryan Garcia vs. Emmanuel Tagoe Preview

Ryan Garcia is the favorite in this bout. He is coming off a seventh-round TKO victory over Luke Campbell in 2021. The stoppage came after Garcia was dropped by a left hook in the second round.

However, Tagoe has expressed confidence in the bout and promised an upset. As all but three of his 33 fights have been held in Ghana, he is not well known among American boxing fans and believes that he is being underestimated. Tagoe has held a number of WBO, IBF, WBA, and IBO titles in the lightweight division. He has not lost a fight since his debut in 2004.

Tagoe's most recent bout was in 2020 against Mason Menard, who fought both Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney in 2018.

Ryan Garcia vs. Emmanuel Tagoe Prediction

Ryan Garcia is expected to win the fight on Saturday. At 23-years-old, he is ten years younger than his opponent. However, Garcia's toughest opponent to date was his last fight, Luke Campbell, who knocked him down in the second round.

While Garcia will likely pursue a knockout, Tagoe has never been knocked out. The bout on Saturday is scheduled for 12 rounds. Garcia has never boxed a full 12 rounds and has not boxed 10 rounds since 2018. Tagoe has gone 12 rounds in more than 8 fights. As a result, Tagoe may have the edge if he can keep the fight going in the later rounds.

Prediction: Ryan Garcia via decision.

Undercard Previews

The biggest fight on the undercard is Marlen Esparza vs. Naoko Fujioka. This is a 10 round unification bout for the WBC (held by Esparza) and the WBA (held by Fujioka) Flyweight Titles. The Ring Flyweight Title is also on the line.

Esparza fights out of Houston, Texas with a record of 11-1-0 with 1 knockout. Fujioka fights out of Tokyo, Japan, and has a record of 19-2-1 with 7 knockouts. She is a five-division world champion, having held belts from Mini-Flyweight to Bantamweight.

Fujioka has beaten numerous world champions and is considered to be one of the best flyweight boxers today.

Prediction: Naoko Fujioka via decision.

Check out Fujioka vs. Urbina here: