Lightweight Ryan Garcia, the 2017 ESPN prospect of the year, will square off with Jose "Wonder Boy" Lopez in a 10-round fight on March 30 at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California, Golden Boy Promotions announced on Friday.
The fight will headline a card on DAZN and will also include junior flyweight world titlist Angel "Tito" Acosta defending his 108-pound belt against former titlist Ganigan Lopez in the co-feature.
"I'm excited to come back for my first fight of 2019," Garcia said. "We sold out Fantasy Springs last March when I knocked out Fernando Vargas, and I expect this fight to be exactly the same: a big win in front of a huge crowd."
Garcia (17-0, 14 KOs), 20, of Victorville, California, will be in his second fight since beginning to train under Eddy Reynoso, who also trains unified middleweight world champion Canelo Alvarez. In his last bout, Garcia knocked out Braulio Rodriguez in the fifth round on Dec. 15 on the undercard of Alvarez-Rocky Fielding at Madison Square Garden in New York, where Garcia was cheered wildly by the crowd.
"These are the kinds of fights that Ryan Garcia must win to become a world champion," Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya said. "He has all the makings of a global star, so it will be interesting to see how he can overcome this challenge. At the same time, Lopez is a tough fighter who really needs a win, so he'll do everything he can to end Ryan's undefeated streak."
Lopez (20-3-1, 14 KOs), 24, of Puerto Rico, was once hailed as a future world champion but he has lost two of his past three fights, including a sixth-round knockout loss to Jonathan Oquendo in October.
"Ryan is a great fighter and a top prospect at Golden Boy. I know the challenge that I have in front of me, and I am getting ready to make a great fight," Lopez said. "I will get the victory no matter what."
Acosta (19-1, 19 KOs), 28, of Puerto Rico, will be making his second title defense and going for a fourth win in a row since he lost his first shot at a world title by decision to Kosei Tanaka in Japan in May 2017.
Lopez (35-8, 19 KOs), 37, of Mexico, won a junior flyweight world title in 2016 and made one successful defense before losing the belt by majority decision to Ken Shiro in May 2017. Lopez got a rematch with Shiro in his last fight but suffered a second-round knockout loss last May.
The card will also include: highly touted junior lightweight Eduardo "Rocky" Hernandez (27-0, 24 KOs), 21, who will make his United States debut in a 10-rounder against Ibrahim Class (22-5, 10 KOs), 28, of Tanzania; featherweight up-and-comer Joet Gonzalez (21-0, 12 KOs), 25, of Los Angeles, in a 10-rounder against an opponent to be determined; and junior welterweight contender Antonio Orozco (27-1, 17 KOs), 31, of San Diego, in a 10-rounder against an opponent to be named. The fight will be Orozco's first since losing an action-packed decision challenging junior welterweight world titlist Jose Ramirez in September.