This year has been nothing short of an extreme roller coaster for Ryan Garcia. The then-25-year-old began the year with the idea of revamping his career. A crushing loss to Gervonta Davis in 2023 set him back, but a KO win over Oscar Duarte had him slightly back on track, with a huge opportunity ahead of him in April 2024 against Devin Haney. We all know what happened then.
Garcia dominated Haney, picking up the best win of his career. Then came the failed drug test revelation. Then came the meltdown. Then came the suspension. Garcia is now past the halfway mark of his suspension, so he can begin eyeing potential opponents for his return in April. While he waits, Garcia has decided to stay in form with an exhibition bout against Rukiya Anpo, a Japanese kickboxer. Everything seemed fine for the fight to go ahead on December 30, but a wrench has been thrown, and it’s by Garcia’s promoter.
Oscar De La Hoya puts Ryan Garcia exhibition bout in doubt
On Tuesday, Oscar De La Hoya put out a statement on behalf of Golden Boy Promotions, who represent Garcia. Essentially, the event will not happen unless De La Hoya wants it to.
Golden Boy Promotions has exclusive rights to Ryan Garcia’s fights. The organizers of this event (Garcia vs. Anpo) have acknowledged as such and have agreed in writing that our sign-off is needed for this event to occur. As no such sign-off has been given, as of today there is no event with Ryan Garcia.
It makes sense when you look at the big picture. Garcia’s promotion company doesn’t want one of its top fighters risking injury ahead of a return to the ring in a few months. In addition, Golden Boy not being involved in the exhibition bout would mean no revenue for them.
De La Hoya is likely angling to get Golden Boy involved in some way. If the organizers. Rizin and Fanmio, agree to work with Golden Boy, it very well could go ahead. But if not, it probably won’t.
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