Garnica has finally found the coach, Virgil Hunter, to break through from bantamweight prospect to prized contender, and a promoter who firmly believes in him and plans to back him.

Now it’s time for Garnica (13-0-1, 8 KOs) to sink or swim. The next lap in the race takes place Friday night, when he takes on Eros Correa (15-2, 9 KOs) at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California.

Their fight will headline a Showtime Boxing Promotions show billed as “New Era Fight Night III” on Fox Deportes.

“I'm just scratching the surface, and this fight will get me one step closer to further making a name for myself and better position me for what’s to come,” Garnica told The Ring. “My journey has been filled with ups and downs, and I’m ready to make the leap with my new head coach, Virgil Hunter.”

Garnica is a 26-year-old native of Oakland, California, who turned pro in 2018 following an amateur career totaling nearly 120 fights. Garnica was tied to Golden Boy Promotions during the developmental phase of his career, but he got shelved after three fights around the time of the pandemic.

With fights hard to come by, Garnica fast-tracked his development by sparring against the likes of Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, Oscar Valdez and Julio Cesar Martinez.

Garnica was also forced to take several fights in Mexico and across different shows in California before finding stability by signing with an upstart promotional company, Showtime Boxing Promotions.

Garnica now hopes Hunter, a renowned coach most known for guiding Andre Ward throughout his Hall of Fame career, can lead him to the promised land in their new journey together.

“Virgil has been helping me improve my boxing fundamentals and my IQ,” Garnica said. “My foundation has gotten sharper, and I’m focusing on my jab and movement. It’s been very promising, and I am locked in. Virgil has given me confidence and reassured my boxing abilities.”

The 72-year-old Hunter, who also trains the likes of Amari Jones, Joshua Buatsi and Souleymane Cissokho from his Hayward, California gym, is intrigued by Garnica’s potential.

“I'm at the stage of my career where I don’t need to have top fighters,” Hunter told The Ring. “I really wanted to help Anthony because he’s a good kid from Oakland and he has talent – he can really fight. He’s motivated to help his family and has no bad habits, and that’s what I like about him. Anthony is a boxer-puncher, has a great jab, a lethal left to the body, defense and he’s cerebral. He has great timing and reaction, and that’s the kind of fighters I like. I excel with athletic fighters.

“I have high expectations for him. The rest is in his hands. We should know by the end of the year if he can evolve into a world-class contender, depending on the guys he beats. He can go all the way. We’ll have a lot of questions answered on Friday.”

Garnica has been matched tough against Correa, who’s coming off a decision loss to the undefeated Michael Angeletti in June.

Reyes Mejia, the head of Showtime Boxing Promotions, is intrigued by the idea of building his first world champion with Garnica.

“From my perspective, signing Garnica was an easy decision because he has the mindset, discipline and style that people connect with,” Mejia told The Ring. “He’s still developing, but the potential is there for something much bigger. We believe with the right opportunities, the right matchmaking, and continued growth, he can become a serious name in the sport. What excites me most is that he’s hungry, coachable and willing to put in the work every day. Those are the fighters that usually separate themselves over time.”

Garnica’s 15th professional fight coincidentally falls on the 15th of the month, and he believes his future and fate will be decided by no more than five fights.

“Virgil, Reyes, and my advisor, Wilson Du, are steering me in the right direction and giving me the extra motivation to stay focused,” Garnica said. “Within the next year, I should be able to take on world-class competition. I’m learning with each fight, and I’ll be ready to show what I have against the top guys very soon.”

Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan.