Jorge Garcia did his best to manifest a major title fight into his plans for 2025.
Still, he was caught off guard when he got the call that one of his dreams was coming true.
The resurgent contender Garcia is locked in as he prepares for his upcoming vacant WBO 154lbs title fight with Xander Zayas, 21-0 (13 KOs). They will meet atop a show from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City on July 26. It was an opportunity that Garcia, 33-4 (26 KOs), earned – but he was nevertheless surprised by the news.
“I was very excited, overcome with joy,” Garcia told BoxingScene. “I was actually shocked. I think my first reaction was, ‘What the hell is happening?’
“Once reality set in, I settled down and got to work. Now I’m channeling my excitement into beating the hell out of the heavy bag.”
The opportunity represents the first title fight for both boxers. It’s less surprising for Zayas, a 22-year-old Puerto Rican contender who has been perfectly groomed for this moment as he challenges for the belt in his 22nd pro fight. For Garcia, it’s been a much longer and difficult journey.
The 28-year-old from Los Mochis, Mexico, hasn’t yet competed for any version of a major title during his 12-year, 37-fight pro career. Few fighters at the contender-level can make that claim in the four-belt era where interim and secondary titles are readily made available on a whim.
Things finally broke the right way for Garcia in his past four starts, all of which are part of his eight-fight win streak. Chief among that stretch was his upset split-decision victory over Charles Conwell in April to land in this very position. Conwell was an unbeaten, leading WBO junior-middleweight contender who was a healthy -1200 favorite headed into the bout.
Garcia was right behind him in the WBO rankings, but considered a longshot to run the 2016 US Olympian’s title plans. Twelve rounds later, he found himself in the best position of his previously hard-luck career.
“I spoke into existence that 2025 was going to be my year,” insisted Garcia. “I was determined to have either a world-title fight this year or an eliminator to get there. In a way, I kind of had both.”
The long overdue run of good fortune began with a third-round knockout of Roarke Knapp in June 2024 on the road Kempton Park, South Africa. Garcia also entered that fight as an underdog but refused to embrace the role of stepping stone.
A knockout win three months later was followed by what was his biggest victory at the time.
Garcia was surprisingly dominant in a 10-round unanimous decision victory over former top welterweight contender Kudratillo Abdukakhorov in December in Tijuana, Mexico.
Ironically, it became a breakout performance on a night that produced the year’s biggest upset, when hometown hero Jaime Munguia was knocked out by Bruno Surace in the sixth round.
“At that point, I thought it was a 50-50 fight,” recalled Garcia. “It was an important crossroads fight for both of us. He was the perfect opponent for me at that point of my career. I faced a former contender; a big name who only had three defeats and was never stopped. His team looked at me as an opponent to see where [Abdukakhorov] was at in his career.”
It was the type of matchup that would not have gone Garcia’s way earlier in his career. The proof is in his four defeats, all of which he takes ownership of and acknowledges as blown chances.
“I had other opportunities in my career where I failed to shine,” Garcia recognized. “There were a lot of steps to get here. I had the right fights where a win would have led me to a world-title opportunity. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the results that I wanted.
“I wasn’t at 100 per cent and didn’t have the right people around me. Now we do, the Montiel family – who also train [IBF 130lbs titlist Eduardo] ‘Sugar’ Nunez – have taken me under their wings and my career has prospered ever since.”
Even with things finally breaking his way, there was a part of Garcia who waited for the industry to pass him over at the wrong time.
Zayas was the WBO mandatory challenger to then-unified titlist Sebastian Fundora, 22-1-1 (14 KOs), who also holds the WBC belt. A fight was ordered between the two, only for Fundora to vacate the WBO belt once he became bound to a contractually forced rematch with Tim Tszyu.
It meant a title shot either way for Zayas. Garcia was the next highest-rated WBO challenger in line and wasn’t about to pass up what could wind up as his only shot at a major belt.
The fight itself, however, is the second time in his career where Zayas was on his radar. He didn’t expect the fight to pan out when it was first presented, but he felt it was his destiny once his name landed back on the radar.
“It surprised me,” Garcia said of the matchup making its way to the schedule. “They offered me a fight with Xander Zayas in the past, well before the title. His name was mentioned to me by my promoter. I think they were looking for opponents on the way to the title a couple of years ago. My team asked me and I said, ‘Yes, of course.’ We told them we were interested but never got the call.
“I don’t think it was because they were scared or anything. Maybe they just wanted a better opportunity; maybe my record wasn’t appealing enough to them.
“The good thing, now, is that when the title became vacant, it was no longer a question. If they wanted Xander to compete for the title, they had no choice but to fight me this time.”
Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on and .
