Former interim lightweight champion, Ryan Garcia shook up the world when he defeated his longtime rival Devin Haney. But, then again, he got caught in the Ostarine Gate scandal when his drug tests came back positive. In fact, the 25-year-old missed the train to capture the WBC title against Haney without even stepping into the ring and now he has taken up a Muhammad Ali reference, trying his level best to come clean and clear his name.
‘King Ryan’ was recently seen sneaker shopping at Kick Game where he made a starking remark, seemingly comparing himself to the GOAT of the squared ring. When asked about titles and what they meant to him, Garcia said,
“That doesn’t go with you when you die, so I don’t care about no belts, belts are stupid, nobody remembers Muhammad Ali, ‘Oh, hes’s the WBC champ, they know Muhammad Ali for being Muhammad Ali. I don’t know Muhammad Ali for the belts.”
Following his theatrics at the weight-ins, Garcia missed weight and got his chance of racking the WBC LW gold taken away, that too before even stepping into the ring with Haney. However, despite the initial hiccup, Garcia stunned the champion, rocking Haney multiple times before sitting him on the canvas.
Ultimately, he earned the much-needed win and bagged millions in the process. Then came the test results where Garcia was found to have Ostarine (a banned substance) in his blood. This cast a shadow of doubt and tarnished his credibility as an athlete and now the youngster is drawing Ali into the mix, trying to defend himself and look good in the public’s eyes.
Interestingly, Garcia cannot seem to stay away from controversy as he recently wore a “Rematch me, b**ch” t-shirt to the Gervonta Davis vs Frank Martin fight that earned him a stiff verbal jab from ‘Tank.’
‘Tank’ Davis rips into Ryan Garia following the latter’s rematch challenge
Destroying undefeated challenger and southpaw, Frank Martin, Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis retained his WBA Lightweight title in style. While the outcome of the bout was pretty much predictable with many boxing pundits foreseeing Davis’ hands raised, nobody could predict Garcia’s move.
Gervonta Davis on a rematch against Ryan Garcia: “I’ll kick his ass again” 😅 pic.twitter.com/zFNpwNnLvw
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) June 16, 2024
Donning a “Rematch me, b**ch” shirt, Garcia hugged Davis ringside, openly challenging the champion. In response to this, ‘Tank’ wasted no time and welcomed it like a man. Deeming Garcia “crazy” Davis said that he would kick his a** again, making it evident that he was ready to defend his throne.