SAN DIEGO Calif., August 31, 2018 – Social media has transformed sports for the athletes and the fans. Boxing is no exception. The fighters and their promoters find plenty of ways to build up fan interest on their social media accounts. In the last year, the social network connection has gone to the next level, with fights shown entirely online via social media channels. Golden Boy Boxing joins the move to live streaming using the Facebook Watch platform.
Golden Boy Boxing puts its next card from the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California on the platform this Saturday, September 1. Unbeaten super featherweight Ryan Garcia (15-0, 13 KOs), ago 20, faces 28-year-old Carlos Morales (17-2-3, 6 KOs).
Carlos Morales and Ryan Garcia will get some work in on Saturday and the Facebook Watch platform gets another test run. Photo: Tom Hogan, Hoganphotos/Golden Boy Boxing
You can see the card on “GoldenBoyFN” on Facebook Watch here: https://www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyFN
The card starts at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, and only features three listed bouts. Along with the main event, super welterweights Marvin Cabrera of Los Angeles, (8-0, 6 KOs) and Neeco Macias of Lancaster, California (16-0, 9 KOs) test their unbeaten records, and Kevin Ceja Ventura of Omaha, Nebraska (10-0, 8 KOs) ) stays busy against Eduardo Rafael Reyes of Mexico (9-14, 6 KOs).
Ryan Garcia: heir apparent to Canelo Alvarez?
Ryan Garcia has the charisma and the social media following to be a star – as long as his boxing skills keep up with his Instagram numbers. Photo: Tom Hogan, Hoganphotos/Golden Boy Boxing
Garcia, whose career is equally a product of his social media following as his skills, seems tailor made for the Facebook Watch platform. He’s cheerfully participating in the promotion, but it’s not really the kind of fight he wants. Garcia missed out being on the Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin rematch undercard in May when the fight was postponed.
Garcia’s fight was moved to May 4 at the StubHub Center as the main event. His performance caused De La Hoya to proceed with caution. The young knockout artist went 12 messy rounds with Jayson Velez of Puerto Rico. Garcia couldn’t stop Velez before the final bell sounded. Nevertheless, Garcia needs this type of fight experience, and he’ll get more on Saturday against Morales.. Flashy first round knockouts are fun, but eventually Garcia will need to rely on what he’s learned in the trenches against opponents like Velez when he faces tougher opposition – and De La Hoya wants to see what Garcia learned before throwing him in with the likes of WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis, or WBA lightweight title holder Alberto Machado.
Garcia enthusiastic about the Facebook Watch exposure
“”I feel good. I love the excitement,” said Garcia. “I just want everyone to be hyped when I fight. I want everyone’s heart pumping as they wait for a war.”
The confident Garcia says his power will be a problem for Morales, but “You can’t really tell how he fights until you are in there. Whatever he has said about me is irrelevant. Whether he thinks I’m a kid, or that I’m always on social media, that’s irrelevant. What matters is what will happen in the right. For this fight, you can expect big numbers. It will set new precedents. This Facebook deal was made for me.”
Carlos Morales hopes to make the most of his opportunity against Ryan Garcia on Saturday. Photo: Tom Hogan, Hoganphotos/Golden Boy Boxing
“Ryan Garcia cannot knock me out,” said Morales. “We’re going to make it a smart fight during ever single second of every round. All of my fights hve been against tough contenders, and that has given me a lot of confidence.” Going into Saturday’s fight, Morales has won 16 of his last 17 bouts.
Garcia and Morales have crossed paths; they once trained at the same gym. It’s fair to say Morales is a step down in opposition from Velez. But upsets do happen, and Morales is a tested and tough journeyman with enough power to force Garcia to pay attention. Morales went 10 rounds with Alberto Machado, and so he knows how to handle himself.
Garcia has the hometown advantage, coming from the high desert community of Victorville. His fans will be out in force enjoying a long weekend in the Palm Springs area. They will urge him to knock out Morales, and that’s what De La Hoya wants to see long before he puts Garcia in the ring against any opponent with a title. De La Hoya needs to develop the fighters in his stable who can eventually take the reins from Alvarez as Golden Boy Boxing’s marquee moneymakers. Garcia is fighting for position with the fast rising super welterweight Jaime Munguia of Tijuana, who scored himself a fight on the Canelo-GGG 2 undercard that Garcia didn’t get.
Putting in the work and staying ready
Ryan Garcia trains at the Legendz Gym in Norwalk, California. Photo: Tom Hogan, Hoganphotos/Golden Boy Boxing
Rather than putting Garcia on the rescheduled card two weeks from now, promoter Oscar De La Hoya is “saving” Garcia, promising him a featured spot on the undercard of a planned fight for Alvarez in New York at the end of the year.
It’s important to bear in mind Garcia is only 20 years old, still figuring out what to do with his raw talent and how to handle himself in the limelight. These kind of fights are necessary for Garcia, if not particularly challenging. It also gives Golden Boy Boxing another run to work the kinks out of the new Facebook Watch platform, which didn’t perform to perfection in its debut, the stream dropping out midway during the main event.
READ MORE: Ryan Garcia, Gary O’Sullivan start Cinco de Mayo weekend with victories
Gayle Lynn Falkenthal, APR, is President/Owner of the Falcon Valley Group in San Diego, California. She is also a veteran boxing observer covering the Sweet Science for Communities. Read more Ringside Seat in Communities Digital News. Follow Gayle on Facebook and on Twitter @PRProSanDiego.
Please credit “Gayle Falkenthal for Communities Digital News” when quoting from or linking to this story.
Copyright © 2018 by Falcon Valley Group
