Ryan Garcia, Are You Okay?
Ryan Garcia at a press conference promoting his fight with Devin Haney (via badlefthook.com)
One of boxing’s biggest superstars, Ryan Garcia, seems to be in a nasty downward spiral as of late. This downward spiral includes a noticeably puffier face, raspy voice, incoherent tweets and speaking of conspiratorial topics on X Spaces.
The change became most evident once Garcia appeared on the PBD Podcast, hosted by conservative political commentator, Patrick Bet-David, where Garcia appeared with his podcast exhibiting some strange behavior on January 31. Although he did not touch on the aforementioned controversial topics, he seemed to be bloated, speaking with a raspy voice, and exhibiting mannerisms associated with those who have an alcohol and drug addiction.
His next exhibition of strange behavior was reaffirmed by his ex-wife on Instagram, which was reposted on X, asking for his fans to pray for him. She claimed that Garcia was not in a good place and asked people to pray on his behalf.
Garcia’s mental deterioration went further, so far that it delved deep into conspiratorial topics. Garcia claimed that he had been kidnapped, taken into the woods, and had been forced to watch children engage in sexual conduct with each other. He had mentioned Bohemian Grove, which has been subject to many conspiratorial theories involving the exploitation of children for some time now. Despite the accusations surrounding it, many believe that this is conspiratorial in nature and far off base for the professional boxer. The post below highlights the obscure discussion that Garcia had with those who attended the live session.
His obscure behavior was then highlighted with his appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani where he was exhibiting similar behavior that he did on his podcast appearance with Patrick Bet-David. He went into topics such as his upcoming fight with Devin Haney and wanting to challenge UFC Bantamweight Champion, Sean O’Malley to a mixed martial arts bout. The interview can be found using the link below.
Since then, Garcia has made it known that he regrets introducing Jake Paul into boxing and wants to fight him to right the wrong he has created. In light of all these instances that are obviously out of character for the boxer, many believe that there are substance abuse issues at play here.
Although Garcia has stated that he does indulge in alcohol as well as marijuana, many believe this stems from an addiction to cocaine. His manager, Oscar de la Hoya, who has a history of substance abuse is speculated to be complicit in his recent mental decline and alleged substance abuse.
In light of all of this, the combat sports community as a whole has expressed their concern with how Garcia’s change may be motivated by substance abuse. There has not been any action taken by Garcia to remedy these changes, which seems concerning to many. Garcia is scheduled to fight Devin Haney on April 20 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
