RYAN Garcia made headlines throughout 2024 after pulling off an upset win against Devin Haney only for it to later be declared a no-contest following Garcia’s well-documented failed drugs test.
Now, the Californian, who was drawing concern due to his absurd and erratic behaviour during the build-up to the fight, has revealed his struggles with alcohol abuse, declaring that he even drank on the day of his showdown with Haney.
‘King Ry’ acted out of character following the announcement of the Haney fight including bizarre posts made on his social media accounts but it was not until the weigh-in for the fight that fears over Garcia’s wellbeing were cemented.
After missing weight by 3.2lbs and subsequently forgoing the chance to claim Haney’s WBC super-lightweight title, an unmoved Garcia stood proudly at the front of the stage, pretending to drink a beer as he soaked in the attention, unphased by the consequences of his apparent ill-preparation.
Yet, come fight night, the script was flipped as Garcia, 24-1 (20 KOs), dropped Haney, 31-0 (15 KOs), three times during a famous majority-decision victory that few had forecasted. It was a performance that seemed destined to live long in the memory – and it will, but for all of the wrong reasons.
During the aftermath it was revealed that Garcia had tested positive for ostarine, eventually resulting in a backdated one-year ban and his career-best victory being taken away from him and deemed a no-contest.
Upon reflection of a turbulent year, Garcia revealed that he feels as if he was ‘destroying his soul’.
During a candid interview on Ring Champs with Ak & Barak, he said: “I was doing everything — gambling, drinking, women; whatever I wanted to do.
“[My family] wanted me to get help and they tried as best as they can but when you are in that state, you aren’t listening. When you have everything, you want at your disposal, it’s not for everybody. I have an addictive personality so, when I got going, I got going and just took it to a whole other place.”
Garcia went on to reveal the extent of his drinking problems, which seemingly stemmed from his divorce from his wife, just weeks after the birth of their son, declaring that he even drank on the day of his fight with Haney.
“I’m surprised I am here right now.
“I was drinking every day, every single day, even the day of the [Haney] fight. The day of the fight, I just got so involved with trying to cope with whatever was inside. I was struggling mentally for years, and it just wouldn’t stop for me. That’s how I coped with it.”
Yet, despite his struggles with mental health and alcohol of late, Garcia maintained that he would never and has never knowingly ingested performance enhancing drugs, still believing that he was set up.
“I was drinking and doing all that but one thing I don’t do is take steroids. I know, in my heart, they set me up in that way. Regardless of what their claims are, they are never going to admit that, but it was just so convenient.
“I tested clean all the way through and then after the fight, everything was good. [Haney’s] little brother posted [on social media] that I was going to test positive for steroids. How the f**k would he know that I was going to test positive before any of that news came out?
“It gets announced and then the next day, Devin Haney is on SportsCenter talking about it. It feels like I was set up and it did a number on me. I became very angry and I guess, in a sense, I’m still angry in a way.”
Garcia will make his ring return against Rolando Romero, 16-2 (13 KOs), where the WBA (Regular) welterweight title will be at stake, as a part of the Saturday, May 2 card at Times Square, New York.
