Ryan Garcia Faces “Aura Farming” Taunts With Love Island’s Belle-A After Suing Oscar De La Hoya

Ryan Garcia suffered a surprising defeat to Rolando Romero this past May, despite entering the bout as the favorite. In the aftermath, ‘King Ry’ reignited his feud with promoter Oscar De La Hoya, triggering widespread speculation of an imminent and irreparable split. Tension initially escalated when De La Hoya publicly shared profanity-laced text exchanges, accusing Garcia of undergoing a “bipolar episode” — a comment that added fuel to an already volatile fire. 

Speaking to Ring Magazine, Garcia fired back, accusing Oscar of lacking respect, trust, and belief in him, especially after the Romero debacle. He also slammed a post-fight offer from Golden Boy Promotions as “bulls–t” and criticized De La Hoya for chasing attention to himself rather than standing by his fighters. Garcia has since hinted that his next bout — his last under contract — will mark his departure from Golden Boy. Yet, De La Hoya has downplayed any possibility of a Romero rematch, instead floating Teofimo Lopez as a more enticing opponent. Amid the chaos, Garcia appears to be indulging in a bit of “aura farming.” 

Enter Love Island USA’s Belle-A Walker

23-year-old Belle-A Walker, a Love Island USA contestant, recently celebrated her birthday, and Ryan Garcia was right there to join the festivities. The Victorville native captured the entire celebration through a live stream on the Kick platform, even promoting it on his Instagram story with the caption, “love island type stream,” inviting fans to tune in live.

Later, he shared a clip from the venue, wishing Walker a happy birthday in person. But the evening didn’t end there. Garcia also posted a video on Instagram featuring himself and Walker participating in the viral “aura farming” trend, which took off after an 11-year-old Indonesian boy, Rayyan Arkan Dikha, went viral for dancing on the bow of a racing boat during the traditional Pacu Jalur festival.

In the clip, Garcia and Walker mimic the iconic moves — fluid hand gestures and exaggerated poses — adding their own flair to the trend. He captioned the post, “I’m aura farming leave me alone 😂😂 love island type s**t [Belle-A Walker].” The trend has been embraced by celebrities including Travis Kelce, Alex Albon, and several Paris Saint-Germain players.

However, Garcia’s take on the trend hasn’t exactly landed well with the public, drawing a mix of amusement, confusion, and criticism.

Ryan Garcia gets flamed by fans

Garcia’s clip didn’t seem to have inspired much confidence in his fans, who now claim to have a different view of his future in the sport. “I remember when I thought you were gonna be the next big boxing star :/,” the user commented, disappointed. While the video from Garcia doesn’t mean he can’t box anymore, his loss to Romero seems to have hit people hard. 

Another user could not believe the Garcia, dancing in the clip, was the same man who dropped Devin Haney three times. “This dude knocked down Devin Haney 3 times,” the user commented. Before the Romero loss, Garcia was supposed to face Haney next, but that came crashing down after the loss — not to forget, the whole doping scandal and the ensuing lawsuit.

The next user feels Ryan Garcia has given up on his boxing career. “Bro gave up 😢 I thought he was the chosen one, bro wasn’t won a belt since I can remember 👎🏼,” the user wrote. Ryan Garcia last won a title on January 2, 2021, when he defeated Luke Campbell by TKO in the seventh round to claim the WBC interim lightweight title.

Someone else decided to taunt Garcia’s “aura farming” dance. “This [is] the same dance Romero was doing when he beat you up😂,” the user commented. Romero, ironically, used Garcia’s trademark left hook to drop him in the second round of the fight. 

Meanwhile, this user was heartbroken. “Bro ain’t boxing no more 💔,” the user commented. Only time will tell what the future holds for the 26-year-old, and whether there’s anything to be heartbroken about. 

From the looks of things, Ryan Garcia’s participation in the viral trend in his downtime didn’t sit well with the public. However, every now and then, even athletes need to relax and enjoy. How do you feel about all this?