Elijah Garcia, 19, knocks out Amilcar Vidal in fourth round of middleweight bout
The teenager knows how to fight.
Middleweight prospect Elijah Garcia, 19, stopped Uruguayan contender Amilcar Vidal in the fourth round of a scheduled 10-round fight on the Brandon Figueroa-Mark Magsayo card Saturday in Ontario, California.
The official time of the stoppage was 2:17.
“This is what everybody dreams of right here,” Garcia said. “This ain’t like a surprise. This is what we’ve worked for since I turned pro. We’re going to keep going one step at a time.”
Garcia (14-0, 12 KOs) turned pro at 16 in 2020 and won’t turn 20 until next month. However, he fights with unusual poise.
The Phoenix resident and Vidal engaged in a spirited back-and-forth fight, during which both men landed punishing blows. The first three rounds were so close they were difficult to score.
Then Garcia changed everything. He hurt Vidal with a right hook and followed with a flurry of hard, mostly accurate punches that put Vidal on the canvas.
Referee Jack Reiss quickly assessed Vidal’s condition and stopped the fight, giving Garcia by far the biggest victory in his career.
Garcia has said he wants to win a major world title by the age of 21. He took a significant step in that direction on national television Saturday night.