Ryan Garcia Was Asked to Take ‘Mental Evaluation’ Before Haney Fight

Highlights

Garcia has concerned fans with his erratic behaviour in the build to his fight with Devin Haney.
‘King Ryan’ missed weight at Friday’s weigh-in, costing himself a cool $1.5m.
Commissioners in New York ordered the fighter to undergo a ‘mental evaluation’ before he would be allowed to compete.

Ryan Garcia has confirmed that he was asked to undertake a mental health evaluation prior to being cleared for his upcoming fight against Devin Haney this weekend. Garcia will meet Haney in one of the most anticipated boxing fights of the year. However, much of the build to the fight has been overshadowed by ‘King Ryan’s’ antics away from the ring over the last few weeks.

The circus surrounding Garcia was only compounded by the fighter significantly missing the weight limit at this past Friday’s weigh-in. The 25-year-old weighed in at 143.2lbs, more than three pounds over the 140lb limit. Despite this, the fight is still scheduled to go ahead with Garcia giving up a $1.5m chunk of his purse to Haney for compensation, and will now be a non-title bout due to Ryan no longer being eligible to challenge for ‘The Dream’s’ WBC super lightweight title.

Garcia Asked to Undergo Brain Function Tests

The California native eventually agreed to a commission request

Garcia has been making headlines for his strange conduct on social media over the last couple of months, by posting provocative thoughts on a variety of conspiracy theories and other controversial topics. His erratic behaviour was apparently enough to raise concerns from the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC), who requested that he undergo a mental health evaluation before they cleared him for the fight.

After initially refusing to take the test unless Haney was forced to take one too, Garcia ultimately acquiesced and went on to pass their tests. Speaking to ESPN last week, Ryan admitted to feeling ‘demeaned’ by the process:

“I felt demeaned… I definitely felt isolated and I felt targeted. I didn’t feel good about them wanting to do a mental evaluation. It kind of makes me doubt myself. It kind of hurt me and like if this causes real mental issues, I’m going to sue you.”

A spokesperson from the NYSAC also spoke to ESPN and explained their responsibility is assessing professional athletes prior to clearing them for competition:

“The Commission has broad authority to assess the medical fitness of professional athletes (mental and physical health included), and engages in a thorough case-by-case due diligence process with every professional athlete based on their personal medical history and circumstances prior to their participation in competition.

“No match is held until the professional athletes are found medically fit for competition. The Commission will not comment on the specific medical testing and evaluations of any particular person.”

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has also admitted to being concerned about Ryan Garcia’s mental health but is satisfied following the tests by the NYSAC. Sulaiman said:

“I am certain that he’s in great condition for the fight. His trainer vouches for that and he’s looking good. Most importantly, his voice, his calmness, what he kept saying to me when we were talking.”

He continued: “So everything, in my opinion, is completely under control. … The mind is something that you can never know. But from the concerns I had six weeks ago, those have disappeared. At the end, the commission is [satisfied] with the tests that were provided, and that’s how we’re here [one day from the fight].”

Despite the chaotic build to the fight, Ryan Garcia has the chance to silence his critics when he steps into the ring against Devin Haney at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn tonight.