Suddenly it’s all about boxing again for Ryan Garcia, whose one-year suspension for a failed drug test ended April 20 when his New York boxing license was reinstated.
He’ll fight Rolando “Rolly’’ Romero on Friday, with a chance to secure a rematch against Devin Haney. But not so long ago, Garcia was playing chess and golfing while living in boxing purgatory.
“I watched about a million Tiger Woods documentaries over and over again,’’ Garcia told USA TODAY Sports. “I love that guy’s story so much. It just kind of made me maybe just fall in love with Tiger Woods for some reason.’’
Garcia, 26, might have recognized a piece of himself in Woods’ story.
A young phenom. Facing great expectations. Undermined by personal issues, then setting out to write his next chapter.
During the lead-up to Garcia’s fight against Haney on April 20, 2024, he exhibited erratic behavior and later said he was using drugs and alcohol. He knocked down Haney three times and won a majority decision, which was overturned to a no-contest after Garcia’s post-fight drug test came back positive for ostarine, an anabolic selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for human use.
In June, Garcia was arrested at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Beverly Hills on a charge of felony vandalism. (The charge was dropped after he made restitution.) In July, Garcia was expelled from the World Boxing Council (WBC), the sanctioning body, for using racial slurs against Black people and disparaging Muslims on social media. Later that month, he drew criticism for anti-LGBTQ remarks on social media during the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
‘I’ve previously taken responsibility for the comments I made, and I want to reiterate that they were wrong,” Garcia said in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports. ‘I was in a dark place and said things that were out of character and do not reflect who I am. I’ve done a lot of personal work since then and my focus now is on moving forward.’
And so he will on Friday.
The fighter from California, who boasts a record of 24-1 with 20 KOs, said when he was training for the Romero fight he also was in psychotherapy.
“You got to be honest with yourself, got to be honest with the people around you,’’ Garcia said. “Noticing that the road I’m on is not going to lead me anywhere but downhill.
“Getting therapy help and ultimately getting sober and just working the hard way. Don’t take no shortcuts, and making sure that I get right back on the path that I’ve always been on, which is a man of faith and a man of dignity and hard work.’’
On fighting Rolando “Rolly’’ Romero
Question: I’ve seen you and Rolly together and I don’t see any bad blood whatsoever. In fact, it seems like you guys maybe even like each other. With that kind of dynamic, how do you tap into aggression when you get into the ring?
Answer: “I’ve been boxing since I was seven years old. I’ve just been one of those fighters that, I’m fierce about competition, but I’m rarely angry in the ring and I’m rarely angry outside the ring. I’m just looking at it like, OK, it’s a tournament. I got to beat this dude to get to Devin Haney.
“Just like in amateurs, when you’re going up for a national title, you got to beat this guy to get to the next guy. And I’m pretty sure in that ring, if (Romero) pressures me with a good shot, then the fight’s on. But as far as having to get mad about somebody, nah, I don’t need that.’’
On chess: ‘It was something that kept me sane’
Q: During your suspension, what did you do to keep yourself sane?
A: ‘I just got into golf. … But also playing chess. Chess was a great relaxing thing to do in my head. It’s fun. It’s kind of like boxing. If you make a mistake, it’s your fault. It’s not anybody else’s fault, and it was something that kept me sane in a way.”
On his erratic behavior in the past
Q: You exhibited, I think it would be fair to say, erratic behavior leading up to your fight against Devin. What was going on? What was fueling that?
A: “Just mental health issues, I guess you could say. And I was going through a lot of different events in my life. Going through divorce and just a lot of other family issues. But it is something that I had to learn from, going into a fight in that state and not caring and drinking and doing whatever you want could lead to a lot of bad mistakes. So it was a learning lesson, but with perseverance and help with my family and everybody around me, I definitely changed my whole outlook on life. And now I’m more focused, way more professional and ready to handle business like I was doing even before that.”
On a rematch with Devin Haney
Q: The trailer for the fight card in Times Square is all about you and Devin. That’s probably what 95% of the boxing community would like to see, you and Devin hopping back into the ring. If you were given a chance or a choice, would you say, let’s do it right now, let’s do the rematch?
A: ‘A part of me definitely would want to do that. But again, after going through multiple times of year layoffs, I understand that you need to have those in-between fights to be sharp. And it was something that I felt like I wanted to do. … Rolly is no slouch, but if we call ourselves the best, we should be able to beat anybody. … I hope Devin Haney wins and I’m going to be handling my business. So if stars align it’s even bigger.’’
On his failed drug test
Q: You had a dominant performance against Devin. At the same time, after the positive drug test, in some people’s minds it was tainted. What’s it been like to live with that?
A: “There was only trace amounts found, so that shows that it points to contamination and had no effect on the fight. So as far as that, I don’t feel any type of way. I’m just, I’m ready to do exactly what I did last time around. So I’m ready to win this fight, beat his ass again, and then come back and celebrate. …
“I don’t have anything to prove in my heart, my mind, because again, I didn’t take anything.”
On fear
Q: I was talking to Teddy Atlas (the former boxing trainer) about you. He said you’ve always had the talent, but thought maybe it was a struggle to kind of manage your fears. He thinks that can lead to disruptive living. He also thinks you probably crossed a threshold with your performance against Devin and you’re going to be a different fighter. What do you make of that?
A: “I would say a lot of boxers go through that. I would say Mike Tyson, he’s talked about it, how much fear can cripple you, even if you seem like the toughest dude. There’s something about stepping in that ring with millions of people and that pressure of looking good, that pressure of fighting good, that pressure of everything, some personalities is tougher on others. For me, it’s always been tough. I mean, that’s been my biggest hurdle is myself and anxiety, not only in boxing, but in a lot of other things. But obviously it’s the more experience you gain, the more things you’re able to handle.
‘Like Mike Tyson said best, fear is an illusion. It’s not really there. And that really holds true. Once you get in that ring, that bell rings, somehow that fear just disappears. I think that’s an important asset. And now every time that fear comes in, I just say, this is what it’s supposed to be. I’m supposed to feel this way. Because if you don’t feel that way, then you might run into some shots. Sometimes that fear helps you.’
On changing trainers
Q: You started getting ready for this fight with Eddie Reynoso (who trains Canelo Alvarez and is based in San Diego). Then you went back to Derrick James (who trained Garcia for the Haney fight.) Can you explain what happened?
A: ‘Pretty much just the scheduling of Canelo fighting (William Scull) a day after me, and they have to be in Saudi Arabia at a certain time. It just wasn’t going to work out. And me and Derrick, our problems were that a lot of my therapy and everything I was doing to work on myself in San Diego, his training camp is in Dallas, Texas. So me and Derrick, we worked things out. We negotiated some things and he came out to San Diego and, boom, that’s how we came back.’
On therapy
Q: Can you give me a sense of what you were doing in therapy? Obviously that seems like it was a priority, to make decisions based on that. How long did it last and how many days a week were you doing it?
A: ‘It was pretty much Monday through Friday. I think it was like three months, something like that. Two months. It was a lot, I mean every day. But it was something that I felt I needed and it helped me with tools to ultimately get me in the ring for May 2nd. So for me, it was a big step. I don’t like to be anywhere in the small space for too long, but just like in anything in life, you got to put work on yourself.’
Q: So you think it would’ve been difficult to fight without having addressed some of the stuff in therapy? I mean, was that important?
A: ‘Yeah, yeah. One hundred percent.”
Q: Can you share …
A: ‘Just everything. Pressures of boxing, pressures of my life. I’m a 26-year-old and I have a lot of responsibilities, a lot of pressure, a lot of things that are going on. And I was looking at all the wrong outlets and didn’t have the tools on how to handle it. And I felt like it was very, very, very important for me to talk to somebody about it and to break down things and to learn on how to manage all that, because you see a lot of celebrities, they don’t go to therapy and things get worse. You see that by a lot of people. So it’s something that I thought that was a priority in my life, and I’m happy I took advantage of that.”
On his children
Q: You’re more than a boxer. You’re a father of three young children. What have they taught you?
A: “They taught me, one, to be even. You got to make sure that you’re watching everything about yourself and your responsibilities as a human, as a man, and as anything you hold yourself to the highest degree. They’re looking at everything. My kids repeat everything I do, everything I say, and they’re watching their dad and they’re looking up to me. So it’s me just maturing much faster and just trying to be the best person I could be for them. So they could have integrity. They could have all the things you want in a person, and I think that’s what most things they taught me is be humble, to be smart in my decisions and really hold myself accountable.
‘It’s the best thing that’s ever happened in my life, is my kids.”
Q: Were you ever concerned they might intuitively know that you were struggling?
A: “I mean, during that time I wasn’t really around, so that’s a good thing. But they’re on my mind the whole time, and that’s one of the huge reasons why I took a whole 360 turn, just for my kids and just to be there as a dad because the road I was on, I might not be there. So for me, they were a huge part of that.”
Ryan Garcia vs. Rolando Romero