INJURY UPDATE: RYAN GARCIA DODGES SURGERY; CLEARED FOR MASSIVE JULY RING RETURN
After clinching the WBC title, Ryan Garcia's hand is confirmed as "not broken," clearing the path for a 144lb catchweight mega-fight.
Ryan Garcia dodged a broken hand after his world title win over Mario Barrios, even though his hand looked pretty rough right after the fight.
That night in February was huge for Garcia. He dropped Barrios, dominated the fight, and finally got his hands on a world championship belt.
But right after the final bell, Garcia couldn’t hide the pain. His hand was swollen, and a lot of people figured it was broken. When he pulled off his glove, it looked even worse – bad enough that you’d expect the worst.
Turns out, he got lucky. Boxing reporter Mike Coppinger says Garcia’s hand isn’t broken after all. His advisor, Guadalupe Valencia, told Ring Magazine it’s just a light sprain. That’s a relief, and it means Garcia can look at a July return to the ring.
So, no rematch with Barrios. Garcia is free to chase some of the bigger names in the division, and honestly, that’s what fans want to see.
First up, there’s Conor Benn, who’s the mandatory challenger for Garcia’s WBC belt. But Benn is already booked for an April fight against Regis Prograis at 150 pounds. Since Benn only has a one-fight deal with Zuffa Boxing, his next move isn’t clear, so a summer fight with Garcia is up in the air.
But Garcia seems to have someone else in mind anyway. After his win, he immediately called out Shakur Stevenson. Stevenson just picked up the WBO title at 140 pounds after a big win over Teofimo Lopez. Now, a fight between these two is actually on the table.
Stevenson isn’t shy about what he wants, though. He’s made it clear he wants VADA drug testing and a catchweight of 144 pounds for the fight. Here’s what he said: “Was VADA involved in this fight? I saw him with Rolly; he didn’t look like that. If he’s fighting me next, I’m all for the challenge, but VADA will be involved.
“We’ll meet in the middle at 144 pounds. Two big stars – we don’t need a belt for the fight.
“I think it’s a great fight to make. I’m in this for big fights. Ryan and I would have an even bigger fight, and it would be a tremendous fight.
"I want to fight him, and he wants to fight me, so it should be easy to get it done. We’ve just got to make sure he’s on VADA, and there’s no cheating involved.”
TYSON FURY BLASTS ANTHONY JOSHUA AFTER DANIEL DUBOIS STOPS FABIO WARDLEY IN MANCHESTER
Tyson Fury has labelled Anthony Joshua "chinny" after Daniel Dubois secured the WBO heavyweight title against a resilient Fabio Wardley.
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Tyson Fury wasted no time after Daniel Dubois stopped Fabio Wardley this past weekend, using the moment to take a shot at Anthony Joshua.
Dubois picked up his second heavyweight title Saturday night in Manchester, grabbing the WBO belt from Wardley in a wild, bloodied battle that’s already being called a fight of the year candidate.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Dubois, though. He hit the canvas twice in the first three rounds but bounced back hard, battering Wardley late and leaving his face a mess as the final bell sounded.
Wardley never actually went down during the fight, despite looking wobbly near the end. Credit to him for sheer toughness, but Dubois still beat him decisively. This was Dubois’ first victory since his massive upset over Anthony Joshua earlier in 2024, when he floored AJ four times in one night.
On Sunday, Fury chimed in about Dubois’ latest win. With his own fight against Joshua rumoured for later this year on Netflix, Fury saw an opening to stir the pot.
“Just been thinking about Dubois’ crazy fight last night,” Fury said. Dubois fought [Jarrell] Miller, stopped him, but never put him down. He fought. [Filip] Hrgovic stopped him but never put him down. Fought Wardley last night and stopped him, but didn’t put him down. He hit Usyk with bombs but didn’t drop him. But against Anthony Joshua? Drops him five times.”
Fury added, “I’m not saying Joshua’s got no chin, but facts are facts. Take it however you want. Nobody else went down, not Miller, not Hrgovic, not Usyk, not Wardley. But Joshua hits the deck five times? Chinny, get up, slink!”
Fury is coming off a comeback win over Arslanbek Makhmudov and has already signed on to fight Joshua this year. Joshua will warm up first against Albanian heavyweight Kristian Pregna in Saudi Arabia on July 25 before facing Fury.
Promoter Frank Warren says Fury vs. AJ will probably land in October, though Fury might want another tune-up, which could push things back a bit.
As for Dubois, he’s got options. There’s talk of a rematch with Wardley, a chance to settle the score with Usyk in a trilogy, or a domestic showdown with Moses Itauma. Dubois’ dad, Stan, told talkSPORT he’d rather see his son fight another British heavyweight next, not Usyk.
HOW DANIEL DUBOIS SURVIVED TWO KNOCKDOWNS TO STOP A BLOODY FABIO WARDLEY
"I had to dig deep." Read Daniel Dubois' full reaction to his stunning comeback victory against Fabio Wardley in Manchester.
The punch that changed everything wasn't thrown by either of the fighters.
Fabio Wardley came out blazing in his title defence, dropping Daniel Dubois just 10 seconds in. He did it again in the third round, making it look like his big night. But then, something strange happened. As Dubois got up after the fourth round, his trainer, Don Charles, slapped him hard on both cheeks.
That’s when Dubois woke up. “I had to make him realise what he needed to do,” Charles said afterwards. It’s not exactly the kind of thing you see at team-building seminars, but it worked. Dubois turned on, and suddenly Wardley’s reign started to unravel.
Wardley had picked Dubois for the first fight since collecting the WBO belt that Oleksandr Usyk dropped. Honestly, it looked like a smart pick: he dropped Dubois twice and set the tone. But after that slap, Dubois started seeing Wardley’s moves coming; those wild lunges became easier to dodge.
He landed his stiff jab and followed up with savage right hands. Wardley’s jaw somehow took the hits, but his nose was pouring blood, and his right eye was almost swollen shut. He kept pushing forward, showing crazy heart, while Dubois just kept piling on. The fight turned into a brutal spectacle, the kind you can’t look away from.
Wardley got checked twice by doctors but kept fighting. Honestly, it could've stopped before the second-to-last round, when referee Howard Foster finally stepped in. Dubois got his second world title; Wardley, battered and worn, just managed a thumbs up to his mum.
Dubois summed it up later: “I had to dig really deep. When you’re a warrior, you go to dark places. I was nervous at first, all over the place, and had to fight my own battles. That slap woke me up. My dad and everyone were in my corner; I couldn’t let them down.
“Fabio came to fight; he was tough. We were exhausted; it was a real war. I had to use all my skills to win. Great fight, great battle, and I’m No. 1 again.” Sure, Usyk might argue about that, but Dubois proved something; he got up off the canvas and won.
People have called Dubois a quitter since the Joe Joyce fight six years ago. Wardley himself thought Dubois would fold again in Manchester, and for three rounds it looked like he was right until reality snapped Dubois awake.
