RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – MAY 17: Boxer Ryan Garcia (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
The Ryan Garcia story seemingly gets worse every day.
On Thursday, July 4, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman expelled the 25-year-old from all dealings with his organization following a profane and racist rant on X Spaces.
Sulaiman took to X to announce his decision, and he announced he fears for Garcia’s well-being regarding his mental health and potential “substance abuse” issues.
Here is Sulaiman’s post.
I reached out to Sulaiman via text for further comment, and he added:
“I am worried for his life and its extremely urgent for someone to take the proper actions.”
Garcia’s rant had multiple troubling instances, including an excerpt that included racial slurs toward black people and references to deceased police brutality victim George Floyd.
Garcia said: “I hate n******, I’m anti-black, I’m the KKK. Hey, let’s go bring George Floyd back to life and go kill that n***** again.”
As troubling as this rant was, it was just the latest example of the young fighter’s wild and unpredictable behavior.
Garcia littered the build-up toward his fight with Devin Haney in April with manic social media posts and erratic behavior. Many didn’t know if Garcia was trolling or showing real signs of mental health issues.
The Golden Boy product missed weight for the fight, bringing even more criticism from those questioning his readiness for the clash with Haney.
However, Garcia seemed to have the last laugh on all of his critics when he scored a unanimous decision win over Haney, flooring the champion twice in the fight.
In a twist, the fight was ruled a no contest after Garcia tested positive for banned substances, before and after the fight with Haney. Garcia’s B-sample was also dirty, and as a result, he was suspended from boxing for a year by the New York State Athletic Commission.
Since the fight with Haney, Garcia was also arrested for suspicion of vandalism at the Beverly Hills Waldorf Astoria hotel in June.
Following the latest blow-up, Garcia took to social media and showed no remorse for his words earlier in the day. Instead, he invited people to “come and try” him.
Garcia’s parents released a statement denouncing their son’s words and making it clear they do not share the views he expressed in his rant. They also cited an “ongoing struggle with mental health” in their statement.
Former Dallas Cowboys star Dez Bryant commented on X after listening to Garcia’s rant:
Fomer boxer Ishe Smith was especially critical of Garcia for his behavior:
Former super middleweight champion Caleb Plant echoed Smith’s sentiments:
The WBC’s decision is an understandable one, as there has to be some accountability for such negative behavior. It’s unclear how or if this latest issue will affect Garcia’s ability to fight in the future.
