Ryan Garcia the 20-year-old recently appeared on the Canelo Alvarez undercard in New York on Dec. 15 2018. Alvarez had to enter the $360-million contract with streaming services DAZN, and there was plenty of reason to be expected. The cherub’s face was smooth, and the boxer was very close to the ground with such a contract.
Garcia stopped Braulio Rodriguez in the fifth round of his career at Madison Square Garden that night. The second fight took place in three months, and in the other three months, he was again in the ring.
It’s a smart way of building young potential stars: keep them active, face a variety of opponents’ pits, and demonstrate to the young fighter as often as possible.
Garcia’s situation has since changed dramatically. This month on his 24th birthday and Saturday at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, he will fight tough veteran Javier Luck. It will be Garcia’s second fight in three months, the first time he has fought repeatedly since 2018 and 2019, when the only thing that would rise faster than paychecks were his social media followers.
Garcia’s career in battles with his supporter, Golden Boy promotions, and mental health issues has significantly been cut.
After winning the interim world title on January 2, 2021, after striking Luke Campbell with a drooping body shot, Garcia temporarily dropped out of mental health.
Garcia was on his mind when he spoke to Yahoo Sports on Wednesday, but his bubbling trainer, Joe Goossen, could not keep up with the enthusiasm. The veteran who received Garcia’s training from Eddy Reynoso could barely contain himself.
“I’ve seen nothing but Ryan’s strength and determination,” said Goossen. “I could get my hands on some of the hardest economy partners, believe me, and get right into the pocket with those guys, not running, not moving, and just tuning. Plus, he’s in great shape.
“I see nothing in regard to his institution or his eagerness to fight. Nothing. There are no cracks in the arms. Now he is fierce, he is indeed. It is extremely determined. And it is going to be twenty weeks, and a man acquires his sap and feels his oats. A shoemaker is a donkey, and he acts in this way. I need to confirm this: I had no negative thoughts or worries about him at all, regardless of race since we are together. Nobody.”
Garcia interrupted Campbell’s mental health after the fight, deftly prior to his health. One of the oldest cliches in boxing is how it is mainly a mental game, so if a fighter’s mental health is not where he should be, nothing good can happen.
Garcia said he started simply and justly, asking questions about what had been said about him.
“I very rarely thought about my job in those days,” Garcia told Yahoo Sports. “But I was thinking, how true are these of me?” Am I exaggerating more than I am good? There are so many things that go through your mind and have thrown me into a loop. I had to ask internally what was going on, and why I felt that way. Why couldn’t I focus? What is really going on? By part of that process I have become a better overall race….
“But I don’t understand why. Anxiety is a fear of the unknown. But I blame it and it’s good for me. You have an anxiety about the fight, but you’re also worried about something like, ‘Hey, this color is blue or red? Well, I think it’s blue.’ You blame yourself, and you see the truth that it is blue, and your anxiety has not you like it did.
Garcia pulled Fortune out of the fight a year ago. Accordingly, he decided that he should again take on Fortuna. She said she feels like she finds herself comfortable and confident with what she is wearing.
Goossen said the benefits of receiving on the regular ballot are great for him, and said he will be ready to fight for anyone in the division as soon as possible.
“How good would a hitter be in baseball if he only got to bat once in four or five months?” Goossen asked rhetorically. “Not very well, I can tell you. It is imperative to stay busy in any sport. NFL players practice daily and play once a week. Basketball players have 80-dam games a year and practice between games and have game days. To be a chosen athlete, like Ryan is, you need to work diligently. What bothers me over the past few decades are boxing fighters who are not staying busy.
“Fighters have a broken career path and Ryan understands this. Coming in a short period of time. He has been in the gym mostly since Feb.1, with the exception of a few weeks. He gets it. And this will allow him to take on this incredible opportunity he has to train and educate.
Garcia will have to prove to the skeptical public that he will really return and stay here.
It’s not a shameful mentality issue. It is no different than getting sick, or pulling a muscle, or something else. It is a health issue.
Garcia took care of his health. And from the sounds, he gets ready to take charge of the light division.