Ryan Garcia has become too demanding for even one of his biggest supporters.
The now-suspended boxer is no longer allowed to compete in any WBC-sanctioned events, both boxing and non-boxing. WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman took a firm stance following Garcia’s recent online meltdown, which included racist and Islamophobic remarks directed at African-Americans and Muslims.
“Using my authority as president of the WBC, I hereby bar Ryan Garcia from any activity within our organization,” Sulaiman said Thursday via social media. “We reject any form of discrimination.
“I’m afraid of [Ryan’s] well-being, as he has repeatedly rejected our attempts to get lend a hand for his mental health and substance abuse issues.”
The reaction came hours after Garcia (24-1, 20 knockouts, 1 win) spent much of the July 4 holiday spewing hate.
“I hate n***as, I’m anti-black, I’m KKK,” Garcia insisted during a live performance at X Space. “Yo, let’s go bring George Floyd back to life and kill that n***a again.”
George Floyd was an African American man murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in May 2020. The incident sparked riots that began locally and spread across the United States. Chauvin was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison for two counts of murder and one count of manslaughter.
The hosted space was where, as Garcia stated in X’s now-deleted post, “Fuck all the niggas and all the muslims.”
Garcia can no longer fight anywhere in the U.S. until next April.
The 25-year-old Victorville, California native tested positive for the banned substance Ostarine during his April 20 fight with Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs; 1 NC) in Brooklyn, Fresh York. Garcia earned a majority decision victory that night, although it was marred by the fact that he was significantly over the 140-pound weight limit. It was changed to a No-Contest following a decision in June.
Golden Boy Promotions, Garcia’s promoter, has yet to comment on the matter. The topic will undoubtedly come up during the events of William Zepeda and Giovanni Cabrera’s fight week. The weigh-ins will take place on the Friday before Saturday’s fight night on DAZN at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.
Ryan’s parents addressed the matter immediately following Sulaiman’s statement.
“Our son has recently made statements that are not true to his character or the beliefs of our family,” Henry and Lisa Garcia said in a joint statement released by WBC. “Our family unequivocally does not support any of his statements regarding race or religion—they do not reflect who Ryan is or how he was raised.
“Those who know Ryan can attest to this fact. Ryan has been open about his ongoing struggle with mental health over the years and as a family we are committed to ensuring and supporting him to receive the lend a hand he needs to navigate this very tough time and address both his immediate and long-term well-being. We appreciate your continued support, prayers and compassion.”
The request for lend a hand was met with a mix of sympathy and acceptance. Henry Garcia was criticized by Haney during a March 1 press conference after repeatedly calling Bill Haney, Devin’s father, trainer and manager, a “dumb son of a bitch.”
Henry Garcia also asked his son for lend a hand with alcohol abuse, recent interview with Fight Hub TV.
Ryan downplayed the gesture, claiming he had already stopped drinking.
Garcia can no longer fight anywhere in the U.S. until next April.
The 25-year-old Victorville, California native tested positive for the banned substance Ostarine during his April 20 fight with Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs; 1 ND) in Brooklyn, Fresh York. Garcia was declared the winner by a majority decision that night, although it meant he fell far brief of the 140-pound weight limit.
At this point, Garcia began exhibiting disturbing behavior, raising concerns about whether the DAZN Pay-Per-View event would go ahead.
Things got much worse after multiple positive drug test results were revealed, at which point Garcia sank even deeper. He has since fired his longtime aide, Guadalupe “Lupe” Valencia. Garcia called the high-profile attorney “Al Haymon’s puppet” during interview with FightHype.com.
In early June, a settlement was reached with the Fresh York State Athletic Commission after Garcia unsuccessfully argued that contamination was the cause of the Ostarine in his system. In fact, his efforts to prove it only raised more questions about whether the opened containers of supplements had been tampered with before being sent to the lab. Under the agreement, Garcia was suspended for a year from his April 20 fight, fined $10,000 and forced to forfeit his contracted purse of $1.1 million.
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