Ryan Garcia has been banned by the World Boxing Council, marking another blow for the embattled boxer.
World Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman made the announcement on Thursday, noting Garcia's odd behavior on social media in which he repeatedly used racist language and made derogatory remarks about George Floyd, a Black man who died in 2020 after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.
“I am exercising my authority as WBC president to ban Ryan Garcia from all WBC activities,” Sulaiman said. “We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind and we are concerned about Garcia's well-being.”
A spokesman for Garcia did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the WBC's actions. A representative for Golden Boy Promotions, which represents Garcia, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In addition to the WBC suspension, Garcia is also serving a one-year suspension from the New York State Athletic Commission after testing positive for a banned substance before his April bout against Devin Haney, a bout that Garcia won in a dominant fashion, scoring three knockouts to defeat Haney by majority decision, but the win was later declared a “no contest.”
Garcia's erratic online behavior had raised questions about his mental health going into his high-profile bout with Haney, and the incident has only heightened fan concern, but Sulaiman said Garcia “repeated multiple offers of our assistance with his mental health and substance abuse.”
Garcia was arrested last month on suspicion of felony criminal damage to property after he allegedly caused more than $15,000 in damage to rooms and hallways at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Beverly Hills, according to Beverly Hills Police.
Promoter Oscar De La Hoya: 'We condemn Ryan's comments'
“There is no room for hatred or intolerance in our company. Period,” said Oscar De La Hoya, founder of Golden Boy Promotions, which represents Garcia.
“I condemn Ryan's comments in the strongest possible terms,” De La Hoya said in a statement to USA Today Sports. “While he appears to have apologized, it is only the beginning in regaining the trust and respect of those of us who have always supported and will continue to support him. We hope that Ryan will use his time away from the sport to resolve the issues he has publicly discussed, and we stand ready to assist in any way we can.”
