Ryan Garcia has changed his mind on the terms he had originally proposed for a clash against Shakur Stevenson.
The 27-year-old called out Stevenson immediately after his last outing, a unanimous decision victory that saw him dethrone Mario Barrios to become the WBC world welterweight champion.
Prior to claiming the title last month, though, Garcia had suffered a points defeat to Rolando Romero after getting floored in the second round.
That particular setback came in May 2025, just over a year after he claimed a majority decision victory over Devin Haney, which was later overturned to a no-contest due to him testing positive for banned substance ostarine.
But now, having completed his year-long drugs ban and, more recently, secured a dominant victory over Barrios, it certainly seems as though Garcia has turned his career around.
Yet despite previously confirming his desire to face Stevenson at a catchweight of 144lbs, and even saying he could potentially make 140, the American has now insisted via X that he intends to remain at 147lbs.
“I started at a low weight just like you [Stevenson] so there’s no excuse for you not to come to 147[lbs] without rehydration clause????? But if you don’t want to that’s fine. I’m not forcing you to fight.”
Garcia did tip the scales as low as 127lbs at the beginning of his career, but is now a fully-fledged welterweight.
Stevenson, on the other hand, has never fought above 140lbs, which he weighed ahead of his unanimous decision victory over Teofimo Lopez in January.
The masterful performance saw him capture Lopez’s WBO super-lightweight title and, in doing so, become a four-division world champion, making the accolades of Garcia pale in comparison.
