By: Sean Crose
Ryan Garcia is getting over successful surgery to his hand. “I went and got the surgery for my hand,” he posted on social media Tuesday, “and what I needed to get done, I never used that as an excuse for my fight. The media is going to report the surgery. I’m just blessed it was done and successful. Thank you to all for the love and support from the community and people who have been supporting me in my career love yall.” The popular fighter will reportedly be out of action for the next month and a half or so.
Garcia has had himself an interesting year and a half or so. After engaging in eccentric behavior he showed up overweight to fight Devin Haney, then won the fight – only to have a banned substance found in his system. The win was subsequently scratched from Garcia’s record and the fighter found himself suspended from the sport for a year. He was supposed to rematch Haner after first breezing past Rolando “Rolly” Romero after his suspension was up. It didn’t work out that way, however. Romero, seen almost as a tuneup walking in, ended up truly upsetting the figurative apple cart.
First off, the outdoor Time’s Square setting ended up coming across as a bit jarring that night. On top of that, Haney’s return had been the previous fight on the card…and it was abysmal. Haney moved about effectively enough, but didn’t throw much, making the match a snooze fest. That, however, was only the beginning, for – after hitting the mat early on – Garcia appeared totally tamed by Romero, who ended up shocking the world via an impressive decision win. Garcia has claimed his right hand was injured before the bout with Romero, though he refuses to use the injury as an excuse.
As things stand, Garcia appears to be at a crossroads. There are those who are saying that, without the help of a banned substance, he’s not the thudding high end fighter he’s been known to be. This may or may not be true. What is true, however, is that the 26 year old Garcia has only won one of his last four fights (remember, the Haney victory was erased after he was popped for a banned substance). In short, Garcia needs to prove he’s the man he was once assumed to be. Perhaps he’ll do just that.
