By: Sean Crose
The hits just keep on coming for Ryan Garcia. After losing his last fight, which most thought he would win against Rolly Romero last year, Garcia is now being fined for coming in to a weight check heavy. Two weeks away from his comeback fight against Mario Barrios, Garcia has found himself with a $5,000 fine. It’s certainly not the end of the world for Garcia, but missing weight, even a weight requirement to be met weeks out of a fight, is never a good look. “Ryan Garcia’s 14-day weight check was supposed to be received this past Saturday, February 7,” WBC Mauricio Sulaiman indicated via Boxing Scene. “We expect to receive the weight video either today or first thing tomorrow morning depending on his training schedule. If we do not receive this video by then, we will be making a press statement and will contact the boxing commission with this concern.”
Suffice it to say, “Champion Barrios did comply with the video of this mandatory safety rule. The WBC hereby imposes a $5000 fine for non-compliance (on Garcia).” Needless to say, Garcia was indeed able to belatedly check in on weight. Yet It’s hard to shrug off a fourteen day weight check when your opponent holds the WBC title you’ll be fighting for…and has checked in properly himself. Perhaps ironically, this will be Garcia’s first fight for a world championship – a strange thing for such a popular fighter whose been operating in the industry for so long.
The truth is that Garcia has a reputation for not playing by the rules. He showed up overweight for his high profile fight against Devin Haney, for instance, then got a win taken from him after it was learned he had banned substances in his system. The fact that he’s flubbed a weight check seems much more telling when you look at the man’s history. Still, this is boxing, the sport of second – and sometimes third – chances. The reality is that Garcia may enter the ring to face Barrios later this month looking mean and clean before performing brilliantly.
It’s worth keeping in mind that this is a major fight for Garcia. should he win and win well the world may once again be the guy’s figurative oyster. If he looks dull, however, or even loses, it may well take a toll on Garcia’s popularity and earning power, something the man would clearly prefer not to have happen.
