Tagoe: I will upset Garcia, he’s at a different level now
Ghana’s Emmanuel Tagoe is coming to shock the world against Ryan Garcia.
Emmanuel Tagoe is a massive underdog this Saturday against Ryan Garcia — listed at +750 by DraftKings Sportsbook, in fact, with Garcia at =1400 — but the 33-year-old veteran from Ghana believes he can cause another shock in a boxing world that has seen plenty of notable upsets in the last few years.
“Nobody is expecting me to win this fight but mark my words; there is an upset on the cards in San Antonio this weekend,” Tagoe said. “I respect Garcia’s ability but he’s accepted a challenge against one of the best fighters in the 135 lb division and, let me tell you, it’s a whole different ball game at this level.”
Tagoe (32-1, 15 KO) has been a fringe contender at 135 for a while now, and hasn’t fought since a majority decision win over Mason Menard in late 2020 on a Matchroom show in Florida. Most of his career has been spent at home in Ghana, and while he has a lot of solid wins, it’s really Tagoe who has never proven himself at the level he’ll be at on Saturday.
Garcia (21-0, 18 KO) has had much more hype, and his win over Luke Campbell last time out was a win over an opponent seen as a legitimate contender and really good fighter, if not elite. That said, Garcia is coming in off of a long layoff, too, and there have been more questions than ever, perhaps, about his commitment to the sport. He’ll be coming in with a new trainer in Joe Goossen, and coming off of a hand surgery late last year.
Garcia vs Tagoe will be the headline bout this Saturday night on DAZN, with the show starting at 9 pm ET. Bad Left Hook will have full live coverage of the event.