Ryan Garcia is a bright and engaging young man with the looks of a model and special gifts as a boxer. His fast hands, knockout power and terrific athleticism have made him one of boxing's elite young talents.
He's only 25 years old, but he's already earned millions of dollars and changed his and his family's lives forever. He's scheduled to make another multi-million-dollar payday on April 20 in Brooklyn when he challenges unbeaten champion Devin Haney for the WBC super lightweight title in a pay-per-view bout at the Barclays Center.
They've fought six times as amateurs, with each winning three, with the April 20 bout set to be the tiebreaker.
If you've watched any of his recent public appearances or checked his social media accounts recently, though, you know that Garcia is nowhere near being fit to fight.
Garcia has a history of mental health issues and appears to be having a breakdown of some sort. His social media posts are bizarre and suggest a person who is fighting unseen demons. He appears badly in need of medical assistance and not to be preparing to box one of the most talented fighters in the world in about five weeks.
The New York State Athletic Commission requires every fighter to pass a battery of tests to prove he/she is fit for a license and able to safely compete. Among those tests that boxers fighting in New York must pass are an MRI brain scan; an electrocardiogram; a dilated eye examination; blood and urine testing that includes screens for HIV, Hepatitis B & C, and performance enhancing drugs; and a general physical.
Those are all good and are done for the safety of the boxers. There are no requirements for mental health examinations, but one's mental health is as much a part of one's overall physical health as his or her blood pressure.
The commission does have the ability to order a mental health examination, which would seem to be the very least that should be done at this point, five weeks from fight night.
Garcia's behavior, particularly on social media, has been bizarre and has skewed way from the norm. It's gotten to the point where Garcia needs to be pulled from the fight for his own good.
It doesn't matter how much money he's scheduled to earn, or how important the fight is perceived to be. Fighters aren't allowed to box with obvious brain injuries, heart defects or blood abnormalities and so they shouldn't be allowed to fight if they are plagued by mental health issues.
It is no laughing matter, but of course there are sickos on social media who appear to be taunting Garcia for fun when he's clearly in crisis mode.
Garcia is a huge draw, and he played a big part in his April 22, 2023, bout with Gervonta Davis in Las Vegas selling 1.2 million pay-per-view units and generating a $22.8 million paid gate.
If he's pulled, it's hardly the end of his career. He's young and otherwise healthy and has plenty of time to return to the sport. He's going to be a big draw whenever he fights again.
But it would be criminal to keep him in the fight the way he's carrying himself. He's alluded several times on social media to making jokes, and if his erratic behavior is him simply trying to be funny, that says a lot in and of itself. But in any event, this is not a person who looks he's like's fit to compete in a world title fight against one of the best fighters in the world.
Hopefully, the New York State Athletic Commission will not ignore the subject and pretend it was not aware of what is unfolding in front of the world. If Garcia is declared fit after taking a mental competency test, then so be it. He should under that circumstance be permitted to compete.
But with his increasingly strange posts and wild antics, something clearly is going on with Garcia. Hopefully, the people who are closest to him will do the right thing and get him thoroughly examined. And if he needs it, get him the proper help.
He deserves at least that given all he's done for them.