THE Ryan Garcia circus rolls on as the 25-year-old announced his apparent boxing retirement following a one-year ban from the New York State Athletic Commission and the order to return his guaranteed purse money.
Garcia’s life has entered a period of severe turmoil both before and after his 12-round points victory over Devin Haney on April 20. Ryan failed to make the weight that night and later tested positive for Ostarine, a banned substance, throwing into doubt the official result of the contest, which has now been altered to a no contest. Garcia protested his innocence throughout the investigations and refused to apologise for his behaviour.
Further muddying the waters, Garcia had spent much of the build-up making wild accusations, revealing his substance abuse routines while discussing a variety of conspiracy theories. These combined actions caused obvious concern for his overall mental well-being. Garcia was later arrested for causing thousands of dollars worth of damage at a hotel.
As for his once-promising boxing career, in an era of inactivity, fighters can easily forgo a year’s ring action and return as before. Therefore, quite how this will impact Garcia’s credibility, popularity and long-term earning power remains to be seen.
‘King Ry’ has taken to Twitter/X to voice his displeasure over the suspension verdict with a relentless number of messages:
Yall never went thru what I’ve been thru
I’m innocent
You don’t know what Im feeling
I’ve been fighting since I was seven someone cheated me :((((((
— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) June 20, 2024