Ryan Garcia wants to prove this is a new chapter in his life.
One of the most popular fighters in boxing, Garcia had a tumultuous 2024. Ahead of his fight with Devin Haney in April, had a number of incidents, that led some to question the state of his mental health, including badly missing weight for the fight with Haney and then chugging a beer in their final face off. Despite these incidents, Garcia delivered a sensational performance against Haney, pulling off an upset victory, only to later have that result overturned after he test positive for a banned substance.
Garcia received a one year suspension for the infraction and now makes his return on May 2 when he takes on Rolly Romero in the main event of mega boxing card that takes place in Times Square in New York City. On Tuesday, Garcia participated in the first press conference for the “Fatal Fury” event and made it clear that this time around there would be no antics from him.
“I want to be great,” Garcia said. “I’ve always wanted to fight the best fighters in the sport. As far as my problems outside the ring, I’ve always had those problems. I don’t know who else struggles with stuff like that, but that’s just something I was struggling with.
“I want to just show everybody that you can come back from anything. I want to show my dedication to the sport and be a true professional. I admit my wrongs and I don’t want anybody to take my actions of drinking and smoking before the fight and try to think that’s a way to handle yourself as a professional. So I came here to change that. This is my first fight to get respect back and to prove to everybody that it wasn’t a fluke, and I’m ready to do it.”
Garcia’s rival Devin Haney is also fighting on the same card, taking on Jose Ramirez in the co-main event, with both parties openly acknowledging that should should they both win, a rematch of their now No-Contest will take place later this year.
