Ryan Garcia had the world at his feet earlier this year following his huge underdog victory against Devin Haney. However, after a huge drug testing scandal following the fight, the 26-year-old was suspended for one year after testing positive for a prohibited drug called ostarine, and his win was overturned to a no-contest.
‘King Ryan’ is getting back in the ring on the 30th of December this year in an exhibition bout which will take place in Japan against a former kickboxing world champion, Rukiya Anpo. This bout is not a professional fight, which means it will not bear any relevance to Garcia’s professional boxing record, and he is seemingly entering this exhibition with his return to the professional sport in mind.
In a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Garcia gave a four-man hit list of who could potentially be his opponent when he returns to professional boxing. Garcia’s hit list includes one of the biggest moneymakers in boxing, a former UFC champion and two fighters he has already fought before. GIVEMESPORT will go through the names the 26-year-old has mentioned and will analyse Garcia’s reasons for wanting those fights and their likelihood of happening.
Ryan Garcia’s Professional Boxing Record (as of 27.11.24) |
||
---|---|---|
26 Fights |
24 Wins |
1 Loss |
By Knockout |
20 |
1 |
By Decision |
4 |
0 |
No Contests |
1 |
Jake Paul
Ryan Garcia and Jake Paul have had many social media back-and-forths over the years
Ryan Garcia has revealed that his return fight could be against Jake Paul. Garcia and Paul have a deep history together which includes training together at the beginning of Paul’s boxing venture and the two trading words on social media.
Garcia’s main reasoning for wanting to fight ‘The Problem Child’ is to get one back for Mike Tyson and prove that size and weight do not matter. Paul is a lot bigger than Garcia and in his most recent fight against ‘Iron,’ Paul weighed in at 228lbs, which is around 85lbs more than what Garcia weighed in at for his last professional boxing match against Devin Haney.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Garcia said the following:
“It could be against Jake Paul, we don’t know! He was trying to beat up on Uncle Mike, we said we would run it one day, I kind of gave birth to his boxing career. So, I’m here to end it,” Garcia said. “If I fought Jake it would probably be at 185, I think they genuinely think I’m probably too small. But like I said, I think skills pay the bills! If Jake fights the way he fought with Mike, I genuinely believe I would knock him out in four to five rounds.”
Typically, a fight like this would have zero chance of happening due to the huge differences in size and weight, however, money talks and it is guaranteed that Garcia vs Paul is a super-fight that millions of people around the world would pay to watch and the build-up would be must-see
Jake Paul’s Professional Boxing Record (as of 27.11.24) |
||
---|---|---|
12 Fights |
11 Wins |
1 Loss |
By Knockout |
7 |
0 |
By Decision |
4 |
1 |
Sean O’Malley
Former UFC champion, O’Malley, is another fighter Garcia has a history with
Another fighter who Ryan Garcia has regularly gone back and forth with on social media is former UFC bantamweight champion, ‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley.
The two have been publicly talking about boxing each other for a while now and during his appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Garcia revealed that if O’Malley can get back on track and get a few wins, he could be in contention to be his opponent for his highly anticipated return to the ring.
“Sean O’Malley, he didn’t fight his best (at UFC 306). I’m interested in it! He could make a run back, he’s a big star regardless. And he looked off that night, couple fights, he wins, and we can run it.”
Out of the names Garcia mentions on his hit list, a fight against O’Malley is probably the least likely of them all due to Dana White’s disinterest in co-promotion and letting his fighters cross over to different sports.
Sean O’Malley’s Professional MMA Record (as of 27.11.24) |
||
---|---|---|
21 Fights |
18 Wins |
2 Losses |
By Knockout |
12 |
1 |
By Submission |
1 |
0 |
By Decision |
5 |
1 |
No Contests |
1 |
Ryan Garcia is also targeting rematches against Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis
Garcia wants to avenge his loss to Davis and get the win back over Haney on his record
As well as targeting big-money fights against Jake Paul and Sean O’Malley, Ryan Garcia is also targeting more serious fights against two men he has already fought before, Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis.
Garcia vs Haney absolutely needs to happen again as despite the bout getting overturned to a no-contest, Garcia clearly won, and that fight could potentially be even bigger than the first and would draw huge money for both men. As for Garcia vs Davis, that is also a possibility. Davis gave Garcia his first and to this point, only professional boxing loss and, once again, the two have traded words about a potential rematch on social media many times over the years.

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