The biggest social media star in all of boxing is getting closer to his ultimate goal of fighting for and winning a world title. First, Ryan Garcia, who has 4.8 million Instagram subscribers and who leads the newest generation of boxers who live out their lives online, has to get past his toughest opponent.
Francisco Fonseca is a two-time world title challenger who has only lost to top-notch boxers. While Garcia has been perfect in the ring so far in his career, Fonseca wants to change that in a fight you can stream on DAZN on Friday night.
“I just see a person I’m going to go through,” Garcia told the Daily Dot. “Just an obstacle in front of me, just another step on my journey and my legacy. The cliché in boxing is you can’t take anybody lightly. I don’t take him lightly.”
That’s a good strategy to have, because Fonseca certainly could make it tough for the 21-year-old Garcia.
Here’s everything you need to know to watch Garcia vs. Fonseca.
Ryan Garcia vs. Francisco Fonseca
- When: 9pm ET, Friday, Feb. 14
- Where: Honda Center in Anaheim, California
- Streaming: DAZN
- Cost: $19.99 per month or $99.99 for one year
What is DAZN?
The only legal way to watch Garcia vs. Fonseca in the U.S. is on DAZN. Since September 2018, the streaming service has shown some of the most important boxing matches in the sport. DAZN is in the middle of a $365 million contract with Canelo Alvarez, and it showed both Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz heavyweight championship bouts. Gennadiy Golovkin has fought twice on the service since June, and the exciting World Boxing Super Series tournament has been a mainstay. And don’t forget about KSI’s victory against Logan Paul and Jake Paul’s knockout of AnEsonGib in YouTube boxing extravaganzas.
DAZN costs $19.99 per month or $99.99 for the entire year, but for fight fans, it’s been a good value. It streams more than 100 fight cards per year—including a large number of MMA cards with Bellator—and you can watch some of the best boxers in the world (like Alvarez, Joshua, and Golovkin) and some of the potential rising stars (like Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Devin Haney). DAZN says it’s doing its best to try to kill the longtime boxing PPV model, but another perk of a subscription is getting to watch fighters like Garcia on a regular basis—that should get your blood pounding as the fists begin flying.
DAZN works with Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire Stick and Fire TV, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and both iOS and Android phones. All you need to do is download the DAZN app and log in with your subscription credentials. You can also stream via computer browsers Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Internet Explorer, and Opera. (Read our full DAZN review here.)
Garcia vs. Fonseca: Why it matters
Garcia wants to fight Gervonta Davis in December. His plan for the upcoming year? Beat Fonseca, fight again in the summer, and then take on the two-division titlist by the end of the year. Considering Davis knocked out Fonseca in the eighth round of their 2017 bout, Davis has the chance to measure himself against the boxer he’s chasing.
“If I control [Fonseca] really good, I’ll be OK,” Garcia said. “If I perform to the best of my ability, I think it will be a better performance than what Davis did. I do look forward to that later this year. I want to shock the world. I want to do something great. I want to do something great and something that nobody expects.”
Coming into the Fonseca fight, though, hardly anybody expects him to lose. He’s a -4500 betting favorite, meaning you’d have to wager $4,500 to win a measly $100. Frankly, Fonseca (25-2-2, 19 knockouts) doesn’t own any wins of note, and in the two toughest fights of his career, he was blasted out by Davis and beaten rather easily by former 130-pound titlist Tevin Farmer. Now, Fonseca will move up a weight class to lightweight to take on Garcia (19-0, 16 KOs).
But Fonseca said his experience will give him an edge. And he’s prepared to knock out Garcia.
“We are prepared to win,” Fonseca said. “If it’s by decision, they are not going to give it to me. So, I know what I have to do. He’s a great fighter, but I’ve had a lot of experience facing top opposition. I don’t want to underestimate Ryan Garcia. He’s a great prospect, but he doesn’t have the experience that Gervonta Davis and Tevin Farmer had. On that basis, I will walk away with the victory on Feb. 14.”
Garcia vs. Fonseca live stream schedule
- Ryan Garcia vs. Francisco Fonseca
- Jorge Linares vs. Carlos Morales
- Alexis Rocha vs. Brad Solomon
- Blair Cobbs vs. Samuel Kotey
- Tenochtitlan Nava vs. Anthony Casillas
- Bektemir Melikuiziev vs. Marco Antonio Periban
- Alejandro Reyes vs. Nelson Colon
- Evan Sanchez vs. Daniel Evangelista
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