Former interim world boxing champion Ryan Garcia's bout with incoming undefeated WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney is set to be one of the biggest fights of the year, but debate is simmering over whether it should even take place at all.
The pair of 25-year-olds have met six times as amateurs, most recently when they were both 16-years-old and split three wins each.
31-0 Haney is a former undisputed lightweight world champion and one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world. Meanwhile, Garcia's loss to Gervonta Davis in April 2023 was hugely popular, with a sold-out Las Vegas crowd netting $22.8 million in ticket sales (fifth-highest in Las Vegas history). ) and over 1.2 million pay-per-view purchases were made in the United States alone.
Therefore, the upcoming fight on April 20th should be one of the biggest highlights for boxing on the 2024 calendar.
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But behind the hype lies a worrying truth. Garcia appears to be in crisis, and the star, who was previously praised for taking time off for mental health reasons, now appears to be in an even more alarming situation.
Aliens, Tupac's killers, demonic rivals, rape, child trafficking: these are just some of the bizarre topics Garcia has been ranting about in recent weeks.
For weeks, the American player has made a barrage of outlandish and often defamatory claims on various social media platforms, sparking concerns about his mental health ahead of the match.
It's difficult to summarize the full story regarding Garcia's recent actions.
In recent weeks alone, Garcia has claimed that she was raped by a family member when she was two years old. He claimed to have been abducted by “elites” at Bohemian Grove (a secret camp in California, USA) and forced to watch children being sexually abused (and to have evidence of this and the sexual abuse of other children). have evidence of human trafficking). He claimed to be God. Influencer Logan Paul worships the devil, claims his Prime energy drink contains cyanide, and challenged his brother Jake Paul to a boxing match. He predicted on June 6 that an earthquake would “destroy” Los Angeles and Las Vegas. He claims he has proof that aliens exist. He claims (and has proof) that he knows the person who killed rapper Tupac Shakur. He claimed that Tom Hanks and Oprah Winfrey had affairs with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and that Haney's father and trainer were pimps. That includes calling billionaire Elon Musk the “Antichrist”…and releasing a rap song.
Mr. Garcia has not provided any evidence for his claims.
The antics ranged from social media posts to livestreams on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram featuring the likes of divisive influencer Andrew Tate.
A social media post earlier this month also claimed Garcia had been murdered. A video posted to Garcia's account was overlaid with text that read: Ryan Garcia, Rip B***h. 666” and “RG THROAT was slit on Sunday, March 3, 2024. ”
Another recent barrage of (now deleted) tweets read: “Tweet deleted in real time. They are planning my death now. April 12th they will kill me. When. [it] Would you believe it? ”
Previously, on Christmas Day, he broke up with his wife Andrea Serina, two days after she gave birth to their second child. In January, he announced the divorce and the birth of baby boy Henry Leo on the same day on social media.
His ex-wife Serena has since expressed concern for Garcia's well-being.
In an Instagram Story on March 4, she said: This is not a troll, but [I’m] We are deeply concerned and so is his entire family…
“We're not involved in this and we want him to recover, but this is reality. Please pray for him.”
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The next day, Garcia released a video with the caption “Solving things up,” but his attempt to downplay his concerning behavior only raised more questions.
“Hey everyone. It's me, Ryan,” he said in the video. “I'm here to explain what's going on. I don't have a phone, I don't have access to Instagram, my card is locked and it's just really being taken advantage of.
“I want to personally send a video to the people who love me, my fans, and my worried family to let them know I'm okay.
“I'm not dead, I believe in Jesus. These are all lies, and you know, they tried to put me in jail, they blocked my card, I don't have money. I don't have access, and no one fights me back. I don't know what's going on, but I just know that I'm okay. Love.”
If it was meant to reassure fans about his mental health, it was the opposite. Fans reached out to Garcia's coach and his father on social media, who responded, “Yes, Ryan is fine. He's just going down the wrong path.”
Few people believe it.
The kind of vandalism Mr. Garcia alleges would be extreme, and given the defamatory nature of many of his claims, Mr. Garcia could face numerous lawsuits. be.
In fact, Garcia's antics and habits are portrayed as ugly and disturbing.
On February 29, Garcia showed up an hour late to a press conference in Los Angeles promoting his fight with Haney. He tried to convince someone in the audience to fight him on the spot, but was accused of cocaine use by Haney.
“Don't drink coke, it makes your voice weird,” Haney said.
“I don't do cocaine,” Garcia said before offering to take a live drug test.
Furthermore, he added: “I drink alcohol, I smoke weed, and so does most of this room.”
Garcia later admitted in an interview that he was high and said he was regularly drunk.
That in itself is an alarming admission as he has to train as hard as he can for what is probably the biggest fight of his career to date.
After becoming WBC Interim Lightweight Champion in January 2021, Garcia shocked the boxing world by retiring to focus on his mental health and not fighting again until his win over Emmanuel Tagoe in April 2022. Ta.
He later said he experienced “suicidal thoughts.”
While many fighters have struggled with mental health issues, Garcia has been widely praised for being open about his challenges and prioritizing his health.
But now, Garcia's extremely erratic behavior appears to indicate that he is once again struggling with his health, something that ex-wife Andrea Serena says is “deeply worrying for her and the entire family.” This is supported by the statement.
Haney's promoter Eddie Hearn also expressed concern about Garcia's actions.
“To be honest, he didn't look like he was going to press,” Hearn said. “I think I've worked with a lot of people and seen a lot of fighters go through problems. When I thought, 'This guy has a problem here,' I've never been wrong. I don't think I've ever…'' I see that in Ryan, too, and that worries me.
“I noticed the mannerisms around them. This had nothing to do with substances, but I could tell that something was changing mentally and emotionally in their behavior.”
“Forget about the game. I hope he's in the game, but he really needs to get into training camp.
“I'm worried about the people around him. He's not even responsible for me. But what I've seen in the last few days, and obviously what happened last night, is insane. It's a behavior that is erratic, and the erratic behavior stems from something.”
He added: “We'll never know the truth because from the beginning it didn't look good…He needs to get in that ring 100% and if he's not 100% he shouldn't fight.”
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Influencer Mike Mailak recently echoed those concerns, claiming he had multiple conversations with Garcia about his mental health and that Garcia declared he “needed help.”
Mailac took part in a social media live chat hosted by Garcia, interrupting Garcia's debunking of conspiracy theories about the Vatican and calling on the boxer to seek help. Mr. Garcia kicked him out of the chat, after which he said:
“Brother, shit, you're on meth, relax. You're not on meth or cocaine, idiot.”
“They're spinning a narrative that I'm going through something, that they're working for the devil,” Garcia said this week regarding Mylac, Jake Paul, and another influencer-turned-boxer, KSI. I'm trying to do it,” he posted.
“Please cancel the Ryan Garcia fight and actually ask him for help,” KSI wrote on social media.
“It's sad to see him having such a mental breakdown in public.”
KSI is not the only figure in the boxing world to call for the fight to be canceled due to concerns about Garcia's mental health.
Former three-division world champion Duke McKenzie believes he is “not fit to fight.”
McKenzie told talkSPORT: “They should pull him out. Someone should pull him out. Someone should say to him, 'Ryan, you're not fit to fight right now.'
“It's never too late. You can schedule the fight for three months or six months, but no matter how long it takes this kid to get his mind right, because he clearly isn't.
“This is not rocket science, he could get serious and if this fight continues he will be seriously injured. I am sure of that.”
Kevin Eor, a 50-year veteran of boxing journalism, writes: “Garcia is far from fit for the fight.
“Garcia has a history of mental health issues and appears to be suffering from some kind of breakdown. His social media posts are bizarre and suggest a person battling invisible demons. “He appears to be in need of severe medical assistance and does not appear to be ready to face one of the most talented fighters in the world in about five weeks.”
But so far there has been no move to cancel the fight, and promoters are understandably wary of canceling superfights that raise tens of millions of dollars.
“When April 20th comes around, it's literally going to be a bloodbath,” Garcia's promoter Oscar De La Hoya said earlier this month.
“I've been in contact with Ryan Garcia. I talked to him yesterday and we FaceTimed each other. He looks good. He seems ready. I know. The only thing is he left for camp yesterday and is with Derrick James and is with the whole team.
“It's okay. You'll see Ryan Garcia in the ring on April 20th.”
Haney himself wrote about X in a now-deleted post: He's just pretending to be crazy to “promote”, which is weird because the people out there are actually crazy, but he's just acting for attention. ”
The bout was sanctioned by the New York State Athletic Commission, which has the authority to order a mental health evaluation before Garcia can enter the ring.
Iole writes: “The committee has the power to order a mental health evaluation, which seems to be the bare minimum that should be done at this point, five weeks after the night of the fight… but keeping him in hospital… That would be a crime.'' He fights the way he carries himself. ”
Garcia is not the first fighter to battle mental health issues.
But there is one example that stands out. In 1997, Oliver McCall broke down in the ring during a match with Lennox Lewis, crying profusely and refusing to fight. He would eventually be hospitalized for his mental health.
I was definitely lucky that I wasn't seriously injured in the ring that night.
Garcia is not 100 percent fit and risks serious punishment if he fights Haney, one of the most dangerous boxers on the planet.
Mackenzie said: “This is not rocket science. If this fight is decided, he could be in serious condition and will be seriously injured. I'm sure of that.”
Garcia chose to step away from boxing in 2021 due to his mental health, drawing much praise.
This time, it seems, someone else will have to make the choice for him. Many fear that failing to do so could result in the disqualification of one of boxing's most talented stars.
