OAKLAND, California – Anthony Garnica has made many changes leading up to his next bout.

Garnica and Eros Correa fight in a bantamweight bout on Friday at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California.

Garnica, 13-0-1 (8 KOs), boxed as an amateur at King’s Gym in Oakland, California, the same gym that Andre Ward and Nonito Donaire have lineage to. After turning pro, the now 26-year-old Garnica spent most of his professional career in Los Angeles. He trained with Andy Ruiz Jnr during the heavyweight’s rise in popularity and was featured on Golden Boy Promotions undercards. Recently, he moved back home to Oakland, California. 

“I left when I was 18, I came back when I was 24,” Garnica told BoxingScene. “Being down there showed me the business of boxing, and the side of boxing most people don’t get to see.”

Yet, this second act of his career almost didn’t happen.

“On my way back from L.A., I wanted to hang it up,” Garnica said. “You need a solid team around you, and that is what I was lacking. On my way back, I was praying and asking for help. Now being here, and where I am at today, I feel like God answered my prayers.”

He reunited with his childhood coach Alfredo Gopa, but it didn’t last long. 

Garnica would enlist Virgil Hunter, the Hayward-based boxing trainer famous for leading Ward to a Hall of Fame boxing career from his amateur days. The move came after Garnica’s third-round knockout of Aston Palicte in April 2025.

“It is a perfect match for me, because my jab is my go-to punch,” Garnica said. “Virgil loves that about me, so we have just been sharpening that up… I used to go in there on instinct and what I knew.”

The win over Palicte also signaled his first fight in the bantamweight division. 

“I found my weight class at 118lbs,” Garnica said. 

Correa, 15-2 (9 KOs), knows Garnica well; they have sparred in the past. Correa is from San Jose, California, which is only 30 minutes from Oakland. When Garnica was amateur training in Oakland, he remembered Correa training in Union City, California, at Brickhouse Boxing, and the two sparring. At 33 years old, Correa, coming off a loss to Michael Angeletti in June, is looking to bounce back after an 11-month hiatus from the ring.

“[Getting this fight] is like things are going full-circle,” Garnica said. “It is nothing but respect for him; being able to get in the ring with him is an honor. He has a lot of accolades and has accomplished a lot in boxing…this is not going to be an easy fight.”