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Things aren’t looking good for Ryan Garcia! The Victorville native raised concerns last year due to his erratic behavior on social media in the lead-up to the controversial Devin Haney fight. Despite that, ‘King Ry’ dropped ‘The Dream’ three times en route to a majority decision win. However, due to his positive PED test, the decision was overturned into a no-contest. This got him banned from the sport for a year, and he started plotting his return.

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However, those plans met their surprising demise when Rolando Romero knocked down the 26-year-old in the second round to win the fight via unanimous decision in May at Times Square. After the bout, Garcia revealed he had to go under the knife for hand surgery for an injury he supposedly suffered prior to the Romero bout. Yet, this wasn’t the end of Garcia’s woes, as his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, revealed additional injuries Garcia had sustained.

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According to Oscar, a shoulder injury may delay Garcia’s next appearance in the ring, as the head of GB promotions urged Garcia to take another year off. “He just got surgery,” De La Hoya told The Ring. “He’s going to take a look at his shoulder now. I actually would like Ryan to think about taking the whole year off, getting his mind straight and comfortable, to where he feels good.”

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Despite the concern raised by Oscar and his hand surgery, the Victorville native is not ready to give up quite yet. “I’m not leaving,” Garcia wrote on X, issuing the three-word admission about his future in the sport.

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It’s also worth noting that ‘The Flash’ was supposed to fight Devin Haney in a rematch later this year, but his loss to Romero seems to have poured cold water on those plans. But the question is, what does Ryan Garcia want to do next?

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Ryan Garcia wants to run it back

The Victorville native is open to a rematch against Rolando Romero or Devin Haney after his shock defeat in Times Square. Despite being heavily favored, Garcia couldn’t do much against Romero. Even with the setback, the 26-year-old has expressed a willingness to get right back in the ring. “Whatever the fans want,” Garcia said in the post-fight press conference.

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“If they want me to, you know, run it back with Rollies, let’s do it. If they want me to go straight for Devin, let’s do it.” Haney, however, seems to have lost interest in the fight since then. Recently, he was vying for a bout against WBO super lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez, but ‘The Takeover’ refused to give Haney a fight.

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Regardless, Garcia has suggested that he will continue pursuing fights at welterweight, claiming, “It’s not really like too much of a difference for me.”

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That being said, even though Ryan Garcia is facing turbulence in his boxing career, he has decided to strap on and ride through the tides instead of taking a break. It’s yet to be seen what’s in the future for the boxer. Do you think Garcia is ready for a comeback?

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Written by

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Sudeep Sinha

4,175 Articles

Sudeep Sinha is a senior boxing writer at EssentiallySports. Since his joining in early 2023, Sudeep has penned over 2800 articles, many of which have featured in Sports Illustrated, Daily Mail, and Yahoo Sports. An ardent supporter of Canelo Alvarez, Sudeep has expertly covered pivotal moments in boxing, from USA Boxing’s struggles at the 2024 Paris Olympics to Ryan Garcia’s PED controversy. When not writing, he finds solace in reading, cycling, and debating with fellow fans on boxing subreddits.

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Gokul Pillai

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