Ryan Garcia’s Chaotic Journey

By: Sean Crose

Ryan Garcia thought he’d be fighting Rolando Romero next. “I understand that there has been a lot of confusion,” the popular boxer went so far as to post online, “but this fight is happening. I’m happy to announce this. Everyone is going to post this soon, don’t worry.” Suffice to say, a Garcia-Romero match isn’t really happening. Instead, Romero is going to defend his WBA junior welterweight title against Isaac Cruz on March 30th. The bout will be the co-main event of the Tim Tszyu-Keith Thurman pay per view card. Garcia has subsequently made it clear that he was caught off-guard.

“Look,” Garcia posted to Twitter on Thursday, “I was informed the deal was finalizing and it would be announced in the coming days. Obviously That was a lie. My patience has been tested the last few weeks. I’m trying my best to be as honest and real as I can to you guys. I’ll be looking forward to announcing my next fight. I’m not going to say anything until it’s actually signed and delivered I still look forward to putting on a big PPV for Dazn Boxing. Have a Blessed day. [sic]”

Clearly, Garcia was mad at his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions honcho Oscar De La Hoya. This, however, was nothing new. The two men have been at odds for months, at least. Not surprisingly, De La Hoya indicated to Fight Hub that a Garcia-Romero fight had not, in fact, been all that close to being officially made. “You know,” De La Hoya said, “fighters they type happy when they’re tweeting or whatever. I think Rollie’s fighting Cruz is a great appetizer for what’s to come for Ryan. But the winner of that fight can actually get into the sweepstakes – the Ryan sweepstakes. I’m glad actually they’re fighting because that’s the appetizer for Ryan.”

The truth is that Garcia’s professional journey has been rather chaotic since he was defeated in violent fashion by Gervonta Davis in a super fight last year. While he’s fought once since the Davis bout, Garcia’s next opponent has been the subject of much conjecture. Garcia has been said to be facing one name fighter one moment, another name fighter the next. Devin Haney was supposed to be facing Garcia. Then Romero. Or was it the other way around? It’s all hard to tell after a point. And exasperating. He’s a fun fighter, Garcia, hard hitting, flashy and appearing to brim with confidence. Tedium, however, can harm a career as effectively as being knocked out can. Here’s hoping Garcia gets in the ring with solid competition sooner rather than later.