International Superstar “King” Ryan Garcia (23-1, 19 KOs) and dangerous knockout artist Oscar “La Migraña” Duarte (26-1-1, 21 KOs) hosted a press conference ahead of their super lightweight fight that will now be for the WBA Gold Title. Golden Boy Chairman and CEO Oscar De La Hoya and fighters who are participating in the Ryan Garcia vs. Oscar Duarte fight night were also on hand to give comments. The fight night, presented in association with Cancun Boxing, will take place at Toyota Center on Saturday, December 2 in Houston, Texas and will be broadcast worldwide on DAZN as part of your subscription beginning at 7:00 p.m. CT / 5:00 p.m. PT. Doors to the Toyota Center open at 5:00 p.m. CT, and the first preliminary fight will begin at 5:00 p.m. CT.
Newly announced co-main event, WBA Lightweight International Champion and rising star Floyd “Kid Austin'' Schofield (15-0, 11 KOs) of Austin, Texas, will defend his title against Tijuana, Mexico’s Ricardo “Explosivo” Torres (17-7-3, 12 KOs) in a 10-round fight presented in association with Davies Entertainment. Also making his return is Shane Mosley Jr. (20-4, 11 KOs) who will measure up against San Bernardino’s Joshua Conley (17-5-1, 11 KOs) in a 10-round fight for the WBA Continental Americas Middleweight Title. Opening the DAZN card, knockout prospect Darius Fulghum (8-0, 8 KOs) will perform in front of his hometown Houston crowd in an eight-round super middleweight fight against Pachino “Chino” Hill (8-4-1, 6 KOs) of Davenport, Iowa. This fight will be for the WBA Super Middleweight Continental Title.
On the preliminary card in a four-round super bantamweight fight, Waianae, Hawaii’s Asa “Ace” Stevens (5-0, 2 KOs) will go toe-to-toe with Dominque Griffin (5-5-2, 2 KOs) of Irving, Texas. Former Mexican Olympian and bantamweight prospect Gael “El Terror” Cabrera (2-0, 1 KO) of Sonora, Mexico, will make his return in a four-round fight against Las Vegas, Nevada’s Alejandro Dominguez (2-0, 1 KO). The undefeated Sean Garcia (5-0, 2 KOs) of Victorville, California will participate in a four-round fight against Joseph Johnson (3-1-1, 0 KOs) of San Antonio, Texas. Opening fight night with a four-round super lightweight fight, Cape Coral, Florida's Danilo Diez will make his pro-debut against Jose Valenzuela of Puebla, Mexico (2-10, 1 KO).
Here is what some of today's participants had to say. You can rewatch the press conference here.
RYAN GARCIA, INTERNATIONAL BOXING STAR AND SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT WORLD CONTENDER:
"I put everything into this fight. You know, for the first time, I'm extremely committed in a long time. You know 2021 was one of the years that kind of broke me. 2022, you know a big change in me, and 2023 opened my eyes. I'm about to come back for everything, I'm just laser-focused and that's where my confidence comes from."
OSCAR DUARTE, SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT WORLD CONTENDER:
"First of all, good afternoon, everyone. I'm very happy, very content, to be here. I'm enjoying every moment. This was a dream and it is now a reality. And this Saturday, you'll see my best version. I have a great team, and this Saturday, I'll be winning."
FLOYD SCHOFIELD, WBA LIGHTWEIGHT INTERNATIONAL TITLEHOLDER:
"Hello everybody, I'm just super excited that I get this opportunity. I would like to give a big thank you to Golden Boy, Cameron Davies, and my dad. Without them, I wouldn't be here. I feel like Saturday is just a stepping stone to getting my name out there and put the whole 135 division on notice that I'm here to stay. On Saturday, you can expect some fireworks and I will give you all a great show. Thank you!"
OSCAR DE LA HOYA, CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS:
"This fight card is overflowing with top talent that we have personally scouted and have been carefully building to be the next generation of world championship stars. You won't want to miss this!"
BERNARD HOPKINS, PARTNER OF GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS:
"This is the moment, as we close 2023 and move to 2024, for our fighters to prove themselves to become the top dog. This is their chance to prove they can one day be the main event."
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