Ryan Garcia is a little bit Timothée Chalamet, a little bit Oscar De La Hoya, and a little bit Justin Bieber.
He has the heartthrob looks that make teenage girls swoon like Chalamet, the speed and power that made De La Hoya a legend, and has lived the extraordinary highs and terrifying lows of Bieber’s fame-fueled struggles.
In the ring, he’s electrifying. Outside of it, he’s unpredictable: Brilliant one moment, self-destructive the next.
During the Devin Haney fight week last year, Garcia partied in clubs. The night before weigh-ins, instead of sweating off pounds, he was in Central Park, sipping wine with a woman.
His behavior was as erratic as a knuckleball in a windstorm.
Superstardom has been predicted for him for nearly a decade, yet he’s still only 26, still young in the fight game.
Adonis Stevenson didn’t pick up boxing until 24 and didn’t turn pro until a week after his 30th birthday, but won the WBC light heavyweight title and made nine successful defenses before losing it.
By that standard, Garcia’s 24-1 record that includes an interim WBC lightweight title, his 20 knockouts and the 1.2 million pay-per-view sales he generated with Tank Davis put him well ahead of the usual timeline.
Garcia headlines the Fatal Fury card in Times Square on May 2 against Rolly Romero, a fight meant to reestablish him as a serious contender. A rematch with Haney looms if all goes well.
No one understands Garcia’s struggles better than De La Hoya, the six-division world champion who now promotes him, and who has walked a similar path in dealing with success and overwhelming expectations.
Garcia is actively receiving treatment for his mental health, his manager and attorney, Lupe Valencia, said.
Garcia has been great during a turbulent period in his life that would have forever broken a weaker man. With a clean body and a sound mind, the kid with the model looks has the chance to match or exceed De La Hoya’s extraordinary resume.
“Ryan Garcia is back, baby,” De La Hoya said at a Los Angeles news conference. “Badder than ever. Fresher than ever. I like what I see, man. On May 2 in Times Square, this event could not take place without Ryan Garcia. That’s the bottom line. Times Square, half a million people watching, closing down the street. It's going to be incredible. I’m proud to be a part of it.”
At two news conferences to promote the unique show, one in New York and the other in LA, Garcia was engaged, composed and on point.
The treatment he’s received for his issue seems to be making a difference, but it’s not like a game. There’s no final round, no fourth quarter, no ninth inning. Mental health is the bout he’ll fight for all of his days.
It’s daunting to think of it in those terms, but it’s also extraordinary the opportunity that sits in front of him.
Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy Promotions
Ryan Garcia's win over Devin Haney last year was changed to a no-contest because he failed a drug test.
Mental health issues plague people of all ages and from all walks of life. Boxer or barber, butcher or baker, rich or poor, black, white or brown, it doesn't matter. This insidious disease takes no prisoners.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 59.3 million Americans, nearly 1 in 4, lived with a mental health illness in 2022.
Nearly 10 percent of all Americans will suffer a depressive illness each year, research by Johns Hopkins indicates.
Garcia, who has 12.1 million followers on Instagram and another 1.1 million on the service once known as Twitter, is uniquely positioned to make a difference given his life experience.
After his 2015 win over Wladimir Klitschko, Tyson Fury spiraled into depression, even contemplating suicide. He later became one of boxing’s most vocal advocates for mental health.
“I woke up every day wishing I would not wake up any more,” Fury told the BBC in 2018. “But I am living proof anyone can come back from the brink. There are a lot of people out there suffering with mental health problems who think all their days will be gray, but life can improve again and you will start to enjoy the little things again.”
In 2024, even the familiar rhythms of training camp and fight week weren’t a sanctuary for him from his troubles. He was mocked for his erratic pre-fight behavior, failed a post-fight drug test for a steroid that he said came as a result of contaminated supplements and then was arrested for vandalism in a hotel.
His win over Haney was changed to a no-contest. He was suspended for a year by the New York State Athletic Commission and the WBC expelled him from its membership.
He is eager to beat Haney cleanly with no controversy to prove his claims that he wasn’t helped by a PED in the first fight.
“I’m really focused on whooping Devin Haney’s ass again,” Garcia said. “That’s all I’m really worried about, not even to redeem myself, just to cement that Ostarine b.s., which you probably set up.”
Things got so bad with Garcia last year that he parted ways for three months with Valencia, who has been by his side for seven years.
They’ve reunited and Valencia said Garcia’s made extraordinary progress.
“Everyone around him, his family, his friends, everyone who knows and loves him, was really concerned and worried about him,” Valencia said. “Last year, I can’t pinpoint the exact time, but at some point last year, it became a very difficult time for him. Yeah, I was worried, but at the same time, in the seven years I’ve been with Ryan, I always believed he would come back.
“I could never see hitting a low point and not coming back and rebounding because, honestly, he has a really strong mind. A lot of people couldn’t do what he does and I attribute that to the fact he has such a strong mind.”
He is a star, but he hasn’t hit the rarefied air where giants such as Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Canelo Alvarez, Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Leonard and De La Hoya have walked.
There are levels for him to reach, both in boxing and in stardom.
They go together, especially when you’re a KO puncher like Garica with a model’s looks. A vicious knockout will do wonders for his notoriety.
Romero swings for the fences, but his chin is a glass door waiting to be shattered. And Garcia’s left hook? It’s the wrecking ball.
“I put Rolly to sleep with a left hook,” Garcia vowed. “That’s it. That’s what you’re going to see. Period.”
If we see that, if Romero is laid out and Garcia climbs the ropes and celebrates with the denizens of Times Square, yes, a star may be born.
The tools are there. Now’s the time to build something lasting.
“Tank [Davis] is a big star, but he’s not as big of a star in my opinion as Ryan,” Valencia said. “Ryan can be the biggest star in boxing, the face of the entire sport. He has the potential to be like Floyd [Mayweather] and Oscar. The skills are there. He’s got the charm and the story. … I think he’s the next pay-per-view star and the next face of boxing.”
It’s not an unreasonable opinion.
His biggest foe, though, isn’t an opponent with a crushing hook to the body or a frustrating defensive style.
It’s that brain and the thoughts that run through it that will ultimately determine the final verdict on Ryan Garcia and his career.
Mental health issues can be the judge, jury and, sadly, the executioner.
It’s a fight he needs to win.
It’s a fight he has to win.
Just as fights are won round by round, Garcia’s mental health battle must be tackled day-by-day.
He’s on the verge of something huge. The pressures are only going to increase. Can he keep the train on the track?
That’s the final chapter he has yet to write.
How the Ryan Garcia story ends will be up to him.
Melina Pizano/Matchroom
Ryan Garcia faces Rolly Romero on May 2 in New York's Times Square.