Ryan Garcia’s behaviour in the build-up to his fight with Devin Haney has caused concern among fans and the boxing community, with Eddie Hearn suggesting the bout could be postponed.
There was worry over Garcia at the Los Angeles press conference for his bout with Haney, when he spoke in an oddly muted voice and admitted: ‘Sometimes the weight of the world feels like it’s on my shoulders.’
This came after he posted a picture of himself smoking on social media the night before and said on stage that he doesn’t take cocaine, but, ‘I drink and I smoke weed. And so has the majority of this room.’
Those comments came at a press conference for which Garcia arrived on a white horse and sat on a throne to deliver his verbal jousting with Haney.
The fight for the WBC super lightweight title is coming round fast, on 20 April, but Garcia’s activity on social media has been further cause for concern.
A video shared on Garcia’s X account on Sunday 3 March showed an unidentifiable man erratically walking around his home with an alarming caption reading: ‘We got him boys. RYAN GARCIA RIP B***H. 666. WE TOLD YOU WE WERE COMING.’
The video was shared with the message: ‘MARCH 3 SUNDAY 2024 we slit RG THROAT AND THRU HIM IN A BASKET NOBODY WILL FIND HIM.’
Following the alarming content on his social media pages, his ex-wife Andrea Celina revealed she has been in contact with her former partner since the messages emerged and is ‘genuinely concerned’ for his wellbeing.
‘If all my followers who are believers can you please pray for Ryan,’ she wrote. ‘We are not together and I have been in contact with him and he may seem fine but he is not. I know in my heart he is being heavily oppressed.
‘This is not a troll and I am genuinely concerned and so is all his family members we are part of any of this and want him to get better but this IS REAL. Pray for him.’
Henry Garcia, Ryan’s father, appeared to play down concerns over his son, however. He was quizzed on social media over the posts with one fan asking him:’ ‘Is Ryan ok?’. He responded: ‘Yes Ryan is okay, he is just trolling the wrong way.’
Ryan then posted a video, explaining the situation somewhat, but claimed that he was being taken advantage of and people had attempted to jail him.
‘Hey guys, it’s me, Ryan. Coming on here to explain what’s going on,’ he posted on X. ‘I’m not in possession of my phone, I can’t get access to my Instagram, my cards are locked and I’m just being really taken advantage [of].
‘I would personally just want to send out a video to the people that love me and my fans, my family that’s concerned that I’m okay. I’m not dead, I believe in Jesus, all those [rumours] are lies.
‘They’ve tried to put me in jail, they’re blocking my cards, I can’t access my money. Nobody is hitting me back, I don’t know what’s going on but just know I’m okay.’
He has since posted a number of further eye-catching comments on X, including alleging that he was raped by a family member as a two-year-old and that he has photographic proof that aliens exist.
However, on 6 March he vowed to only post about his upcoming world title fight until the bout is over.
‘I Ryan Garcia, will not be speaking or tweeting or writing anything other then My Fight “Boxing” and Sports,’ he wrote.
‘All topics of discussion will be discussed after my fight 🥊 5 weeks of focus. You have my word I’m locked in I’ll see you 4-20.’
Since then he has commented on Francis Ngannou’s loss to Anthony Joshua on Friday, while footage was shared on social media of Garcia back in the gym.
However, Haney’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has urged those around Garcia to make sure he is 100 per cent ready for the upcoming fight. If not, the bout should be cancelled or postponed.
‘He just didn’t seem himself at the presser, if I am honest,’ said Hearn.
‘I think that I have been around a lot of people and a lot of fighters that I have seen go through problems and I have never been wrong when I’ve thought to myself ‘this person has got an issue here.
‘I just noticed mannerisms around them, and this was nothing to do with substances, but you just see something changing mentally and emotionally in their behaviour.
‘Forget about the fight, I hope that he makes the fight, but he really needs to get into training camp. I’m worried about the people that he has got around him, he’s not even my responsibility, but what I have seen in the last few days is erratic behaviour and erratic behaviour stems from something.’
Hearn added, speaking to Seconds Out: ‘We never know the truth but from the outset it doesn’t look good.
‘Even at the press conference I felt like he wasn’t behaving like Ryan Garcia. But the people around him, Golden Boy, Oscar de la Hoya, Bernard Hopkins, they are former fighters, they care for their fighters, so I’m sure them with Ryan Garcia’s family will make the right decision.
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‘He needs to go into that ring 100 per cent. If he’s not 100 per cent then he shouldn’t fight. It can be delayed, he can get some help, he can get fitter. Leave it to the people who really know him and care about him and hopefully they make the right decision for the kid.’
Garcia enjoyed a remarkable rise to being one of boxing’s brightest stars with over 10 million followers on Instagram.
The California fighter won his first 23 professional fights, including a memorable knockout win over Great Britain’s Olympic gold medal winner Luke Campbell in 2021, but suffered the first defeat of his professional career in one of the biggest fights of 2023, knocked out by Gervonta Davis in Las Vegas.
He bounced back with a win over Oscar Duarte in December with the huge bout against super-lightweight champion Haney looming next month and still set to go ahead, as things stand.
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